Passages
by jaimek45
Summary: River is hidden on Serenity avoiding an arranged marriage to someone she doesn't know or love. This is about her adventures with the crew of Serenity.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright so I was thinking about this last night. As always I do not own anything. **

River placed her feet gently on the ground trying her hardest not to make any noise. The ground was cold and hard and she recoiled her feet when they first touched it. She thought for a moment about putting shoes on, but then decided not to. The fence was just 200 feet away and the guards were doing their usual walk around the perimeter. She looked both ways and then sprinted across the front lawn. She had to leave. She couldn't sign that contract. She couldn't sign away her future when she had so much she wanted to do. She wanted to see the stars and other planets; she wanted to be in the black. She didn't want to be stuck on Osiris for the rest of her life. Being a daughter then being passed on and being a wife. She couldn't handle it. She reached the fence without incident and hopped over it in a single bound. She thought she was home free until she was blinded by a flash light and she heard a soft laugh.

"Almost made it this time lit'l one." She turned to see one of her father's guards smiling at her. She was slightly upset he found this so amusing.

"So close yet so far." She smiled. She could probably out run him if she took off while he was trying to walk her back.

"Don't even think about." He said flatly grabbing her shoulder. "You're 17 what are you going to do out there on your lonesome?"

"Well Mal, if you would have let me go I could have gone out and joined a band of independents and robbed my way through the verse." She grinned cheekily at him before skipping off towards the house.

"Little witch." He laughed and followed her to the front door.

"What do you think your doing? You won. I didn't escape go back to guarding our house." She began to get nervous.

"Oh no lit'l one. This is the third time this week. I have to let him know this time." He frowned. He really didn't want to tell the girls father. He knew that she was running to keep from signing that awful marriage agreement, but he had no choice.

"Ah Mr. Reynolds I knew I would be seeing you soon when the maid awoke and found River had run again." The man smiled at the two before motioning for River to go inside. "Thank you Mr. Reynolds you may go back to your post." Mal nodded and turned to walk away. As the door shut River prepared herself for the yelling, but smiled brightly as she saw Simon running down the steps.

"C'mon mei mei. Let's get you to bed." He wrapped a comforting arm around her and led her away. It took Mr. Tam a few minutes to be able to form words, but when he did it caused both of his children to jump.

"Get back down here now!" He pointed to the ground in front of him.

"No father I am taking River to bed." Simon didn't even turn to look at him.

"I will not be treated in such a manner. You listen to me when I am speaking to you." He continued to yell at their backs. River turned eyes glaring right towards her father.

"You will get respect when you earn respect." She smiled sweetly before turning the corner with Simon.

Simon smiled at his little sister. She was so young and so delicate and he felt like she was his own child. He had been there for her the best he could, but the week before he returned from Medical school they had been given a marriage contract and his parents readily agreed. There was nothing he could do. They didn't even need her signature, not really, on Osiris it was okay for the parents to agree without the woman, or in this case the girl's consent. Mr. Atherton Wing had requested his sister's hand in marriage and she would be shipped off to Persephone and there was nothing he could do about it. She looked up at him with a pleading look.

"I'm so sorry River." He cupped her cheek. "I said I would protect you and when you needed me most I wasn't here."

"You need a life too Simon." She laid down as Simon covered her with a blanket. "What's going to happen to me?" She felt her eyes well up.

"Well they don't actually need your signature, but they'll buy you passage on a ship and pay someone to make sure you get there. Then you'll be married and we'll be separated forever." He looked at his younger sister sadly then stood up to walk out of the room. He heard his father arguing with another masculine voice as he shut River's door.

"No you can't leave." His father was obviously upset. "I need you to escort my daughter to Mr. Wing."

"I'm sorry sir. I purchased a ship and I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Gonna start transporting Cargo." He heard Mal, his father's head of security and the only other person he trusted with River, say to his father.

"But you're taking Zoe with you." His father sounded like a spoiled child whining. "You're taking my two best security guards."

"Well don't feel too bad sir. We're taking Zoe's husband from an Alliance ship as well." Mal joked, but it did nothing to help the situation. Suddenly Simon got an excellent idea and ran down the stairs to talk to Mal.

"Mr. Reynolds may I please have a word with you?" Simon asked interrupting his father.

"Simon it is very rude to interrupt Mr. Reynolds and I were discussing business matters." His father turned to him with a look that told him he was in no mood for any of Simon's ridiculousness.

"Father, you don't have any chance of getting Mal to stay." Simon said paying his father no mind. "Now Mr. Reynolds if you please I would like to have a word outside." Mal nodded and led the way. "If you don't mind we should have this conversation a little farther into the grounds and away from anyone who may be listening. Mal looked at him strangely, but followed him into the middle of the grounds.

"Mr. Reynolds. As you know my sister is going to be married off to Mr. Atherton Wing on Persephone." Simon said looking at the ground.

"Yea I'm 'ware of the situation. Can't say I'm too thrilled with it. Think of her as a daughter. I have seen her grow up from a little girl and now her father is just shipping her off like livestock. Can't say I'm too fond of Mr. Wing though either. I had run in with him few years back." Mal prattled off.

"Yes…well… I can't say I'm too fond of this situation either, but I was thinking that you could transport her to Persephone." Simon smiled at him.

"I don't like this here contract your parents cooked up. So why would I help take her there?" Mal was almost applaud.

"No you misunderstand. You're not actually going to take her. She can stay on your ship until I can get off planet and find a more suitable place for her. Simply say she got kidnapped or had run off along the way." Simon smiled thinking his plan was ingenious. Mal thought for a moment before smiling at Simon.

"Sounds like a plan. I get to keep money for transporting her and I get to keep her safe." Mal was extremely excited about this arrangement. "Alright I will meet you two at the docks first thing in the morning." Simon was extremely excited about getting his sister safely away from both their father and Mr. Wing.

"Deal. Mr. Reynolds we'll see you then." Simon gave him one last nod before running up to the house. His father stood there pacing the floor as he waited for Simon to come back up.

"Simon, what was all that nonsense about?" Mr. Tam demanded an explanation from his oldest child.

"I, father, have gotten River passage on Mr. Reynolds ship to Persephone. This way she gets to Persephone and she's under the watchful eye of someone we both trust." Simon smiled hoping his father would agree to his plan.

"Well Simon I wasn't expecting you to be so level headed about all of this. Very well we will go down to the docks to see her off with you tomorrow." Mr. Tam smiled at him.

"NO!" Simon threw up his hands. "I will see her off by myself tomorrow. No need to upset her before her big trip." Simon told his father who readily agreed to his son's terms. His children were so close he didn't see anything wrong with Simon wanting to spend the last few minutes alone with his sister.

River awoke early in the morning dreading this day. She began to think of all the ways she could get away. She could always hitch a ride another ship down there. She wouldn't have a hard time getting a ride. She knew she was pretty. She could tell by the way men looked at her when she went out with her brother or her father. Maybe she could get a ride based on her looks. It would be better than marrying someone she doesn't even know, let alone love. She turned to see Simon walking into her room and placing a finger over his lips indicating she was to remain quiet. She nodded at him and smiled.

"Mei mei. I got you passage with Mr. Reynolds on his ship. He will keep you on there for awhile so I can secure passage to a different planet. He's going to tell father you ran away so you don't have to marry that man." She smiled at her brother. This was fantastic. Not only was she not going to marry that man, but she was also going to marry she was going to spend a lot of time in the black. She smiled at her brother, her brilliant, loveable brother and she began to pack all her things. Simon walked her downstairs to her waiting parents. They smiled at her finally proud of the decisions she was making. She didn't want to point out that it was their decision and not hers, but it would have been pointless. They hugged her and kissed her goodbye. She told them she would send them a wave as when she got to Persephone and Simon walked her out to a waiting mule. The ride there was silent as Simon knew he would be sending his sister out into the black without any real supervision.

The docks were filled with people and it was hard to walk through. Simon walked her up to a ship, not an enormous one, but it was still larger than one she had ever been on. It had a certain charm to it and River knew she was going to be happy. This place was going to be more of a home than she had ever had. Mal walked down the ramp with a smile on his face.

"Hello Lit'l one." He smiled and it put River at ease. "You ready to go?" She looked between him and her brother before feeling tears roll down her cheeks.

"Let me say goodbye to my brother." He nodded and took her bag from her.

"Simon I am going to miss you so much." She hugged him tightly.

"Mei mei. I will come for you as soon as I am able." He smiled at her holding her chin between his fingers. "You be good. No causing problems." He joked. She hugged him even tighter. "Alright mei mei time to go." She nodded before pecking him on the cheek lightly.

"I love you Simon." She smiled.

"and I you mei mei." He gave her a pat on the shoulder before turning away from her and walking back towards the mule. She stood there watching her brother's back disappear before turning around to see Mal smiling at her.

"Well come on lit'l one. I gotta introduce you to my crew." She followed him in and watched him yell into the comm system. "Crew got a passenger I want you to meet. Come on out." One by one she watched four people file out to the cargo hold. "Lit'l one you remember Zoe." She smiled at the tall dark skinned woman. River always liked her. When her father wasn't paying attention Zoe taught her how to fight and defend herself.

"Hello little one. How are you?" She hugged the small girl.

"I am well." She smiled stepping back

"And this is her husband Wash." She smiled at the shorter red haired man. He looked so out of place next to Zoe.

"It's very nice to meet you Wash." She shook his hand.

"And this is my mechanic Kaylee." Mal showed her a young woman who looked so happy that she was about to burst. She was very pretty even wearing those overalls and covered in grease.

"Well aren't you just a pretty young thing." Kaylee hugged her which caught River off guard, but River thought it would be impolite to pull away so she hugged Kaylee back.

"And this is our merc Jayne." He motioned to a very tall very well built man standing next to Kaylee. River's breath hitched in her throat at the sight of him. His blue eyes seemed to pierce her and she was having difficulty breathing.

"Well crew River here is gonna be riding with us for awhile. She's avoiding a Marriage contract and until her brother sends me word she'll be our passenger." Mal puffed out his chest to make himself seem more in charge. "And you're to all treat her like family. Dong ma?" Everyone nodded. "Jayne help the girl to her room." Just as he reached down to grab her bags he caught sight of her legs and stopped. He looked up at her and waggled his eyebrows causing her to giggle. "JAYNE!" they both turned around to see a red faced Mal staring at them. "Help her to her room and then meet up with me. We're gonna have a little chat." Jayne nodded and proceeded to show her where her room was.

**Alright what did you think? Should I continue or stop here? let me know please read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**If you didn't figure out from the first chapter this is going to be an AU story. Jayne will be younger in this story. As always I do not own anything and no profit was made.**

River sat silently reading her book in her room. She loved to read. It was how she spent most of her free time reading some book, but she sighed as she finished her book and laid it next to her on the table. At this rate she was going to read through all her book in two days and while she wouldn't be on this boat too long it was considerably still enough time to get bored once all her books were gone. She wondered what life would be like if she just married Mr. Wing and went to live on Persephone, but she quickly shook away those thoughts and stood up to put her book back in her room. As she turned the corner she slammed right into someone. She was knocked backward quickly onto her butt . As she stood up to glare at whoever had knocked her over she came face to face with the young mercenary from earlier.

"I was just on my way to come get you core-girl" He smiled down at her. He was at least a foot taller than her. She was caught off guard when he bent down to pick her book off the floor. She froze at the sight of his blue eyes taking in her legs once more. The first time was a compliment, now he was just leering and it annoyed her. "What are you reading?" He tried to look at the cover, but River ripped it from his hands. She had been reading Hamlet and decided to mess with the merc.

"words, words, words." She smirked as she walked away swinging her hips.

"What is the matter, My lady?" He shouted out to her causing her to pause. He quoted Hamlet right back to her. He of course substituted My lady for My lord, but the line remained the same. She turned to him, her mouth hanging open in obvious shock.

"You've read Hamlet?" She was absolutely astonished

"My ma use to read me Shakespeare when I weren't, but a little thing." He said flatly. "Probably 'bout your height." He teased causing her to glare at him. "Anyways. Mal sent me. Dinner's ready in the mess. Jus' waitin' on ya." He then turned to walk away after winking at her. He was absolutely the most annoying person she had ever met and further more he was trying to be annoying.

She walked into the mess and everyone turned to smile at her except Jayne who was to busy stuffing food in his face. Of course, the only seat that remained was net to Jayne and she begruddginly took her seat.

"Hello River." Zoe smiled at the young girl. River was the picture of a girl from the core. Her skin was a milky color and her hair was dark. She was a classic beauty and it would be impossible for anyone not to notice, so she was doing her best to keep an eye on Jayne, who was eyeing her carefully as she sat down next to him.

"Seems that I forgot to introduce ya two of our other fine people on Serenity." River looked up at Mal as he looked between a beautiful woman who eyed him with a bit of distaste and lust. The other person was an older man and River could tell by his clothing and the way he presented himself that he was a shepherd. "This is Inara Serra our resident Companion and Shepherd Book." She motioned between the two people and she nodded politely.

"Hello I'm River Tam. It's a pleasure to meet you." She greeted them giving them her best smile.

"THE River Tam?" She asked looking at her wide eyed.

"The one and only." River knew exactly where this was going.

"You know River?" Mal asked as he set down his fork.

"Yes. My training house tried their best to get her to become a companion." She smiled at the young girl. "I see your beauty was not exaggerated." River blushed.

"You were gonna be a companion?" Jayne asked with a mouthful of protein.

"Yes." River acknowledged his comment and moved on. "Thank you Inara. Your reputation precedes you too."

"Why would an upper class core family send their only daughter to become a companion?" Zoe raised an eyebrow when she asked the question.

"I was a … difficult child." River smirked.

"Well what are you doing on Serenity?" Inara asked trying her best no to pry, but from what she understood this girl could have had anything she wanted and here she was by herself on Serenity doing lord knows what.

"My father signed a marriage contract with a Mr. Atherton Wing for my hand in marriage." She said flatly. She heard the Shepherd's sharp in take of breath. "So my brother made a deal with the captain here to hide me on his ship for awhile then I'll join my brother on an outer rim planet where he can do some good work with his medical degree." She smiled thinking of her brother.

"Is there no way out of the contract?" The shepherd asked finally joining the conversation.

"Unfortunately Mr. Wing has a decent lawyer and there are only two ways out of the contract Death and if I were to have… relations with another man." She frowned.

"Well hell girly we can go fix that right now." Jayne said.

"Jayne, you will keep a civil tongue in that mouth, or I will sew it shut. Is there an understanding between us?" Mal was glaring at him and River sat there with her mouth open.

"You don't pay me to talk pretty. Just figurin' a way to help the both of us." He winked at River before shoving some more food in his mouth.

"Walk away from this table. Right now." She could hear the irritation in Mal's voice and she watched as Jayne loaded his plate up with food and stalked off grumbling about stupid core girls.

The rest of the dinner flew by quickly. She finished the dishes for everyone, it was the least she could do. As she sat in the kitchen by herself drying the last plate she heard heavy footsteps heading her way. Jayne walked in and smirked at her.

"What cha doin' girly?" he asked walking in and setting his plate down.

"Well if you don't know what I'm doing then maybe you shouldn't be using a gun or you know out without adult supervision." She said quickly washing his plate.

"Girly I am an adult. I'm 22." He said sitting down at the table. She wanted so badly to hit him and she wasn't sure why. He looked so smug smiling at her as f he didn't have a care in the world and maybe he didn't. Maybe his life was exactly what he wanted it to be and for that River envied him.

"Can't tell by the way you act." She scoffed at him.

"Well what are you twelve?" He was slightly upset

"I am 17! Someone should really teach you some manners." She yelled storming out of the mess towards her room. As she stormed off she heard him laughing and it just made her more upset. She began to go through her things. She pulled out a white tank top with some black shorts and her pointe shoes.

She waited for everyone to be asleep. She didn't want anyone interrupting her routine. She needed to get her stress out and she hated when people watched her dance. The cargo bay was eerily quiet as she set down her portable cortex. She switched it to the music and began stretching. She began going over the basics in time to the music, making sure her ankles were still strong enough. It had been so long since she danced. Her mother had found it unsuitable for the past year when she was trying to marry her daughter off, but to River it was heaven. As she slowly began to dance a flit around the room she felt free. She smiled as her muscles pulled and stretched. She took position when a new song started. She knew it by heart, the dance had been ingrained into her by her dance instructor, she needed no brain power to perfectly execute the moves she had done thousands or times. It became more difficult as she came to the part where a partner was needed.

"Gonna hurt yerself doin' those moves without a partner." She fell as her concentration was broken. She felt a small tug in her ankle, but as she stood it went away.

"I'm sorry did I wake you." She ran to shut off the music turning to see Jayne standing there in nothing but pajama pants. "Oh it's you. Nevermind." She turned to grab her cortex and walk back into her room.

"Didn't know you were a dancer." He smirked eyeing her top to bottom.

"Well now you know and thanks for ruining my dance." She spat trying to brush past him. He stopped her by placing his arm in the way.

"Didn't mean to ruin nothing, but without any help yer gonna hurt yerself." He smirked.

"What do you know you uneducated, uncouth, child!" She raged that he was acting this way. She had never met someone more infuriating. He smiled down at her once more with his eyes which were so mesmorizing she had a hard time breathing if he stared at her, and lifted his arm to allow her to pass.

"Goodnight Giselle." She heard him call as she closed her door. She took a deep breath as she shook the image of him standing there gazing at her form her mind and laid down on her bed. She dreamed of dancing that night. She had a partner that she couldn't see. She felt his rough hands on her as the feverishly danced together. Spinning and twisting she broke a sweat and shivered when she felt his breath on the back of her neck. His lips were pressed sweetly to her ear as he whispered to her.

"Wake up Giselle." She turned to see ocean blue eyes staring back hungrily at her. She sat bolt upright in her bed to see the happy little mechanic Kaylee standing there smiling at her.

"Mornin'" She smiled at her. "Breakfast is ready." She watched as Kaylee's eyes darted around her room before finally settling on the picture of Simon and herself smiling as they sat on a porch swing. "Oh is this an old boyfriend or something? Is he the reason your running away?" She clapped her hands together at the idea of some star crossed lover story.

"No." River shifted her feet to the cold floor and quickly with drew them. "That's my brother Simon. He's meeting me I guess in a few months." River smiled at the image of her loving if not overly protective brother.

"Well he's very handsome." Kaylee blushed.

"He's single and a doctor." River teased. She loved how easily joking came with this new friend. "I can introduce you when he comes to get me."

"Well that would be something." Kaylee raised her eyebrows. "C'mon we got breakfast hot on the table." River nodded and waited for Kaylee to walk out before throwing on one of her favorite sundresses and padding down to the mess. Kaylee smiled at her and patted the seat beside her. River liked that she didn't have to sit next to Jayne. As everyone filed River noticed that no one spoke, hopefully it wasn't anything she did. Mal sat down and cleared his throat while looking at River.

"yes Captain?" River was beginning to get worried.

"we'll be setting down on a small planet soon and we're not sure if we should leave ya on the boat or take ya with us." Mal looked at her trying to figure out if she understood.

"I don't understand?" She didn't realize that she was suppose to remain on the ship the whole time. She knew once she was suppose to "run away" That she would need to remain hidden, but not yet.

"What the captain's askin' is if you get off the boat. Would it arouse suspicion?" Zoe rolled her eyes at the Captain's horrible wording of the question.

"Oh." River caught on. "No actually it would arouse suspicion if I didn't leave the ship. Besides who wants to remain on this ship for their eighteenth birthday." River blushed looking down at her protein.

"Your gonna be eighteen?" Kaylee asked excitedly.

"Yes I am eighteen as of this morning." River nodded. "I was hoping to go out and get a few more books if that's possible?" She looked at Mal with hopeful eyes.

"Don't see why that's going to be a –" He was cut off by Kaylee.

"No! River! We have to go out!" Kaylee interjected.

"Go out?" River didn't understand she was planning to go out.

"ya know… drinking…dancing… no?" Kaylee looked upset at the young girls confusion.

"You're of age now to drink on most planets." Zoe pointed out to her.

"I understand. It just isn't something that's done on Osiris." River said quietly.

"Well neither is running away from an arranged marriage, but ya seem to be a champ at that." Wash joked which caused River to laugh.

"I'll think about it Kaylee, but I really only have my Core clothing and I'm afraid I'll stick out." River told the truth. On most border planets where the bars were located were strictly Rim people.

"Oh Inara and I will take ya shoppin'" Kaylee was getting more excited by the moment.

"Well you know for a fact your older brother isn't going to let you act anything, but the lady when he comes for ya live it up little one." Wash smiled at her. She liked the pilot very much. He always knew how to ease the tension in the room.

"I'll think about it." She smiled at Kaylee.

"Sounds like the lit'l core girl is scared." Jayne said raising an eyebrow at her.

"Not scared cautious." She said matter of factly.

"Scared. Just like a little girl." He laughed.

"Well sounds like a little girl is gonna out drink tonight." She spat before pushing her chair back and walking swiftly out of the room.

"Jayne you really have to stop teasing the girl." Kaylee said smacking him in the arm before running out of the room after River. Jayne laughed for another moment before walking off toward his bunk with an accomplished smile on his face.

"Well that was certainly interesting." Zoe smirked raising an eyebrow.

"What do ya mean? Jayne's always a wise ass." Mal said finishing his breakfast.

"No it's more than that. He's teasing her. Much like little boys do to little girls they like on a playground." Inara smiled thinking over the exchange between the two.

"But Jayne is 22 years old he ain't no little boy." Mal said hoping and praying Inara wasn't right.

"But it's Jayne, Sir, he's got the emotional maturity of a ten year old." Zoe did make an excellent point.

"Ah. Young love." Wash smiled. "Wonder what she's gonna do next?" he thought over the possibilities.

"Either punch him or kiss him." Zoe laughed.

"Oh I'm kinda hoping for the punch. Always wanted to see Jayne put in his place." Wash laughed at the thought.

"Me too Wash. Me too." Mal shook his head. He hated the idea of someone as sweet as River being taken advantage of by someone like Jayne, but he just reminded himself of the fact that he could always stick him in the airlock.

**Please read and review. I want to know what you guys think and if there is anything I can change that might make the story a bit better or if you don't understand anything I will do my best to change or explain it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the new chapter. I do not own anything and no profit is made from this.**

River wasn't sure about her new outfit Kaylee and Inara had picked out for her. She had never worn pants before; her mother thought it was improper clothing for a young woman. Not only was it her first time wearing pants, but these were extremely tight and seemed to fit just like a pair of tights or leggings she would have worn as a child. Kaylee also picked out a shirt that fit loosely and exposed both shoulders. The final step had been Inara's choice in shoes and boy had Inara picked some impressive ones out. They were calf length boots with at least a four inch heel. Had River been any less graceful she would have never been able to walk in these. Kaylee insisted that she put her hair up and Inara just had to put makeup on her. If she was being completely honest with herself she didn't see the point in putting so much effort into your appearance if you're only going out for a few hours, but they were just being nice so she didn't complain.

She walked out into the cargo bay when the rest of the women walked out with her. Kaylee had taken off her trademark overalls and replaced them with a light pink tank top and very short denim shorts, but as a creature of habit she still wore a pair of tennis shoes. Zoe a skin tight Dark red dress and sandals. Inara still managed to regal in a deep purple sleeveless dress that stopped at about mid thigh. As they stood in the cargo bay both River and Kaylee exchanged grins as the men's conversations came to a halt. Wash and Mal both stumbled over their words as they stared at Inara and Zoe. Jayne simply stood there with his mouth hanging open, but River couldn't tell who he was staring at, her or Kaylee and for some reason that bothered her. Kaylee, seeing her frown, leaned over and whispered quietly to River.

"Don't worry lit'l bit. It ain't me he's staring at." River gave her her best confused look.

"I don't see why it matters who he's staring at. It's very rude." River lied through her teeth.

"You ladies look lovely." Shepherd book nodded and smiled at them before continuing to read his book.

"Yes Inara you look absolutely beautiful." Mal continued to stumble over his words. He was so struck by how she looked he couldn't even muster up the courage to insult her.

"Looking at that dress is giving me all types of ideas." Wash winked at Zoe while wrapping an arm around her.

"Do these ideas have anything to do with dinosaurs?" Zoe questioned him raising an eyebrow.

"….No…" Wash spluttered with embarrassment.

"Enough chatter." Kaylee smirked "Let's go get River drunk." She grabbed River's arm and ran down the ramp towards the town.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us Shepherd?" Mal finally asked turning to look at the older man. Shepherd lowered his book to look at the remaining crew and smiled.

"No thank you, but someone will need to be level headed enough to keep the two young lovers apart when they get back." He motioned to Jayne who watched River leave the ship with his mouth still hanging open. "Careful Jayne or you'll start catching flies." Jayne quickly shut his mouth and muttered something about a stupid core girl before following Mal out of the ship towards the bar. "Things are going to get very interesting soon." Shepherd muttered to himself before continuing to read his book.

The bar was crowded and River took everything in all at once. Men sat by the front door playing a game of darts, while she knew of the game she had never played before. Some people were dancing towards the back of the bar and seemed completely dedicated to whatever they were doing and in between these two groups were lots of people drinking. She felt someone step next to her and lean in towards her ear.

"What's the matter core-girl" Oh it was Jayne "You never been somewhere like this before?" He smirked at her and her heart seemed to beat faster as she watched him walk over to a table to sit down.

"Don't mind him none." Kaylee smirked. "Let's go get some drinks." She stood at the bar with Kaylee waiting to be served. She listened dutifully as she ordered something called a sex on the beach and then graciously took the drink while Kaylee paid. They made their way through the throng of people and just before she made it to the table she felt someone grab her arm and swing her around.

"Hey there pretty girl." She could smell the alcohol on his breath and she tried to tug her arm so she could walk away, but the man had a strong grip. He was older at least her father's age an only an inch or so taller than herself, but the alcohol that swam through him gave him strength and courage to do anything and River found herself getting scared. "Why don't you and I go find somewhere more private and have a little fun?" He tried winking, but due to his extreme intoxication he only managed to blink at her which caused River to start laughing. "You little bitch." The man went to raise a hand to smack her, but was stopped when someone grabbed his arm at the wrist.

"Little problem here core-girl?" She turned to see Jayne's blue eyes staring at her while pushing the drunk out of the way.

"No problem here just me and the missus having a spat." The man grumbled barely coherent.

"I know for a fact that she ain't yer missus." Jayne turned on him. "She's a passenger on the ship I crew and if yer not gone from this bar in five minutes I'm gonna make sure ya can never raise yer hand to a woman again, Dong ma?" The man nodded and quickly ran for the exit. "Can't leave ya alone fer a second can we?" He turned around to smirk at River once more.

"I was handling the situation just fine." She was bluffing, but she hated seeming weak in front of him.

"You know when someone saves ya most people jus' say thank you." He raised an eyebrow and put an arm around her shoulders as he led her the last few feet to the table.

"Thank you now please remove your arm from my person and take your seat." She glared at him and he laughed slightly as he sat down next to Mal. She took her seat next to Kaylee and began to sip her drink.

"River are you okay?" Kaylee asked concerned as she had seen what had happened.

"I'm fine he was just some drunk guy thinking he had a shot. No worries we have drunks on Osiris too." River smiled hoping the gesture would settle Kaylee and she was happy when Kaylee's temperament returned to normal.

"So how's it feel to be eighteen?" Zoe asked the young girl who seemed so out of place at the bar.

"Much as the same as seventeen." River shrugged.

"Ah to be young and not know what you have." Wash smiled at the girl.

"How ya feelin' after yer first two drink?" Mal asked hoping she was already drunk.

"Fine. I don't feel any different than normal." She smiled.

"That's cause yer drinkin' that same fruity go se that Kaylee drinks. Can't get drunk off of that." Jayne said taking another shot of whatever he was drinking.

"And what do you propose I drink?" She leaned across the table and spoke in a voice that caused Jayne to sputter.

"Why don't ya take a couple o' shots o' whiskey?" He suggested. She nodded as he handed her one of his drinks he had just poured. She hadn't noticed, but unlike everyone else Jayne had just ordered the bottle rather than one drink at a time. "I'm gonna count to three and then we'll both take the shot got it?" She nodded and waited for the count down. "1… 2… 3!" They both downed the shot as quickly as they could and she copied his motion and slammed the glass down on the table. The liquid was warm and she did her best not to cough as she felt it go down her throat. "Not bad for a core-girl, but let's see if you can handle another shot." He smirked refilling her glass. He began the count down again and they took another shot.

"I don't know Jayne she seems plenty capable of out drinking you and she's never even drank before." Wash teased the younger man which earned him a glare.

"We'll get another couple shots in ya and see how ya do at throwing darts." He winked which caused River's anger to bubble over. She hated that he was so over-confident.

"Bring it on!" She glared taking another shot and slamming the glass down.

Two more shots later and River was feeling the effects as Kaylee helped her to the area where darts were being thrown. Kaylee had a concerned look on her face and was beginning to wonder if this was really a good idea.

"River you don't have to do this." Kaylee was pleading with her to stop.

"No someone has to put that… that… that jerk in his place." River's brain was beginning to get foggy.

"Well c'mon then lit'l girl put me in my place." He smirked at her guts. "You ever played darts before. You know anything about this game?"

"No, but I'm a fast learner." She winked.

"Gotta watch that one." A drunken man next to Jayne said nudging his side. "She's gotta bit of fight in 'er" River looked at the man then back and Jayne and smirked. She hadn't realized most of the bar was watching the two of them. She was too busy realizing just how close her and Jayne were standing next to each other. Her face was set and her head was tilted upward to face his and he was leaning over her in a very dominating stance.

"Are they gonna play darts or make out?" Wash joked looking at Zoe who smiled at her husband.

"My bet is play darts, but we can hope for make out." She smirked.

"I've never seen Jayne act this way before." Kaylee was perplexed.

"Yea well there's a first for everything." Mal smirked. He knew exactly where this thing with Jayne and River was heading and it made him nervous. "Are you just gonna stand there all day or are ya gonna play? I got ten bucks says the lit'l girl beats ya." He smirked when Jayne looked up and glared at him.

"Well c'mon show this little girl a lesson…Jayne" She let his name roll off her tongue and she laughed to herself when Jayne almost tripped listening to how sexy she could make herself sound. He took her darts and she watched his movements carefully. This was how she always learned things, she need only watch someone do something once and she was instantly a master. It drove her brother insane, how smart she was, but it was better than being a complete idiot. Jayne had landed some shots close to the center, but not quite there. He motioned for her to go and she laughed as she stumbled her way over to where he was standing. He smirked knowing this was going to be such an easy win; she was drunk and had never played before. His smirk was quickly wiped off his face as she expertly landed the dart dead center and turned to smile at him.

"Told ya boy. Keep an eye on her. She's a fighter." The man winked at him once more then turned to watch her land her other ones right next to the first one. She jumped up and down knowing she had won.

"You lit'l liar!" He spat causing her to turn and face him. She smiled at him which upset him further. "You said you've never played before."

"I haven't. I wasn't even allowed in bars on Osiris and my father didn't allow parlor games in the house. I've also never left Osiris. This really is the first time I have ever played." She smiled at him once more before heading to the bar with Kaylee. Jayne watched carefully as the girls took another shot and a tall blonde man came and asked Kaylee to dance. Kaylee looked to River to make sure it was okay and River waved her off. Kaylee smiled and made her way to the dance floor. River watched for a few minutes as Kaylee twisted her hips around. River decided she wanted to dance like that, so free from restrictions, so loose. She took another shot and walked to the dance floor by herself.

She walked near Kaylee who smiled at her and continued to dance with the man. River felt the pounding music through her feet and began to sway and grind in time to the music. She barely noticed as the songs changed. She felt so free. Simon would never allow her to do anything like this back home and she knew these people would never see her again so she began to mimic some of the more "experienced" dancers on the floor. She rolled her hips and dropped to the floor bringing her back end up before her head. She twisted and swayed knowing most of the men's eyes were on her. She had just started dancing to a new song when she felt someone's arms wrap around her waist. She turned to see a young man not much older than herself dancing behind her. He was very handsome so she just shrugged and continued to dance. It had only been a few seconds and she felt the man ripped from behind her. She turned to see he had been thrown to the ground by Jayne who then walked over and threw her over his shoulder. Kaylee sat there with her hand over her mouth in her surprise. River tried to get Mal or Zoe to help her as Jayne made his way out of the bar with River slung over his shoulder, but they just smirked and waved at her.

"Put me down you Psycho!" She began to pound her fists against his back.

"No!" He said sternly "You're drunk and I'm taking you back to the ship."

"You're not the boss of me!" She stopped hitting him. "Put me down. I was having fun!" She continued to yell

"Yea the whole damn bar could see you were having fun!" He said dropping her on the floor of Serenity's cargo hold. She hadn't even realized they had made it back to the ship.

"I'm sorry if I have a little fun before I'm stuck on some Rim planet the rest of my life with my brother with will not allow me to have any fun. I have a few short months of my life to have the best time of my life before I go into hiding!" she yelled standing up meeting his glare. "What business is it of yours anyway?" She turned to walk back to her bunk, but felt her arm pull backwards as he gripped her wrist. He pulled her to his chest and planted his lips on hers. Her brain stopped for just a moment, clouded by the liquor and Jayne's scent. Her brain began working just a moment later and se quickly slapped him. He recoiled and pulled away. River placed her fingers to her lips; they were still tingling from the feeling of Jayne's lips upon hers. She stared at Jayne who looked just as shocked as she did.

"If you ever pull something like that again…" She didn't know how to finish that sentence. She wasn't even sure she completely hated what Jayne had done, but whatever was going on between them didn't matter. She had more important things to worry about these next few months than some silly man on a ship that she would never see again once Simon came to get her.

"Don't worry lit'l girl." He said slowly still thinking over his next words. "Don't know what I was thinking anyways. Just a child." With that he stormed off towards the crew beds. She watched and waited for the sound of his bunk door closing and made her way to her room. She needed to talk to her brother she felt the tears well up in her eyes as her brother's face appeared in front of her.

"Simon!" She smiled trying her best to hide her tears.

"Mei Mei what's wrong?" his voice was filled with such concern that she finally lost it. She had spent almost all of her life in the care of her older brother that not having him here was killing her.

"Oh Simon. I miss you terribly." She cried. "When are you coming to get me?"

"Shh. Mei mei. I don't know yet, but I'll get you as soon as I can and then no one can separate us again. Okay?" She nodded. "Do you want to tell me what wrong?" She began to go over everything leaving out the bit about Jayne carrying her back to the ship and then kissing her. He stared at her for a moment and then sighed. "We talked about doing new things didn't we?" She nodded.

"But Simon you don't understand. He's so infuriating. He started it!" She whined which caused Simon to laugh.

"Are you sure you just don't have a crush on each other?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Simon I am positive that we do not like each other like that! He is the rudest, most uneducated man I have ever met and I had to put him in his place!" She lied smoothly. She was unsure of everything when it came to Jayne. She heard the door to her room open and turned to see Mal smiling at her.

"You okay lit'l one?" He asked.

"Ah Captain Reynolds. Just the man I wanted to speak with." He saw she was sending a wave. _Damn_ He thought. Not that he didn't like Simon, but the man just had a tendency to lecture especially where his little sister was concerned. "Mei Mei if you could just give the captain and me a moment." She nodded and left the room and made her way down to the mess. She paused and quickly sucked in her breath because there standing in front of her was a very upset Jayne.

"Captain, I believe you and I need to have a talk concerning River." Simon said with a straight face.

"Ah no need to lecture me Simon. I will keep an eye on River. I already promised." He said raising up his hands in defeat.

"No Captain, You misunderstand. I need to speak with you ABOUT River." He sighed "You see Captain… River is different…special… and I think it's time you knew the truth about her."

**Alright let me know what you think. Please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Let me know if you there is anything you think will happen or you want to happen or if there is anything I need to change. Reviews let me know people are reading and give me the push to keep going. So PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to thank everyone for following and reviewing this story. Here is the new chapter I hope you like it. I do not own anything. **

"Captain I don't think you comprehend just how special my sister is." Simon looked at him pointedly. "You already know my sister is a genius." Mal nodded

"Yea both you and your sister are fairly smart." Mal said shrugging. Simon wasn't telling him anything he already didn't know from working for the Tam's since River was just a little thing.

"No captain, you don't understand." Simon rolled his eyes.

"Then make me understand." Mal was getting annoyed at Simon's ability to be such a pompous ass.

"I just recently found out the truth about my family. Do you know why you were hired?" Simon was going to have to break thing gently to the captain because he could scarcely bring himself to believe it.

"To make sure your sister didn't run…" Mal rolled his eyes. How stupid was this kid.

"But when you started she was only five and had no history of running. In fact if you think back she didn't begin to try and run until she was thirteen. Am I correct?" Simon truly didn't know the exact date due to the fact that he was at school during this time.

"Sounds about right." Mal was getting confused now. Why would they need him to start watching her if she wasn't even running yet.

"My parents did this because her mother had a history of running." Mal laughed because that was utter nonsense.

"Regan Tam run from her upper class family and lifestyle. I don't think so. I don't know where you get your information, but Regan Tam didn't run from anything." Mal rolled his eyes. His parents wouldn't run from their house or their fortunes even if it killed them.

"No I said HER mother, not my mother." Simon said indicating the difference.

"I don't understand." Now he really was confused.

"All the time you spent with us you never once noticed that I am ten years older than River?" Simon paused to let this sink in. "Or just how old my parents are?" Mal started adding things together.

"Well now having a large age difference between siblings isn't that odd or having children when your older." Simon was barely making any sense.

"No having older parents when you're my age isn't that odd. My parents were already considered too old for having children when I was born let alone when River was born." Simon sighed out of annoyance "Mal I don't know any other way to see this, but River is not my parent's daughter." Mal continued to stare at him through this revelation. "She's their granddaughter. She's my niece." Mal had to sit down. This was too big and too weird. "I am going to tell you everything I know. Some of it is stuff I remember from when I was younger and some of it is stuff I have learned from my father leaving cabinets in his office unlocked." Simon smirked thinking he was so clever stealing his father's files. "My sister Abigail was ten years older than me and what I remember about her is fuzzy. It has been so long since she passed away, but I remember she was beautiful and I remember she was genius. River takes after her so much sometimes I wonder if she is just a clone. I read over some of the files from Abigail's birth. When she was born the Alliance were experimenting on newborns in the hospitals on Osiris. I don't know what they did to her and I will probably never know what they did to her fully, but the children that were experimented on all had one thing in common." Mal motioned for him to continue. "They were all conceived through in vitro fertilization. They all could have been manipulated before the were even implanted." Mal held his hands up to stop Simon from speaking

"But what does that matter you just said you'll never know what they did." Mal thought for a moment before an idea popped into his head. "Why don't you check up on the rest of these kids that they experimented on?"

"I thought of that Captain, but there were only five of them-in vitro is not very common on Osiris- and they are all either dead or missing. There's no telling where they are."

"I don't see what this has to do with River." Mal was getting edgy. The story was taking too long and he was beginning to wonder just what he had gotten himself and his crew into.

"I'm getting to that Captain. I believe that they manipulated her genes. When I was 8 and Abigail was 18 she ran away and the security we had at the time couldn't catch her. She was smart and fast and she caught a ship to a rim planet called Shadow." Mal began to cough when he recognized the name

"Shadow?" What were the chances that Simon's older sister had taken off to the very planet he had been born and raised on?

"Yes. Do you know it?" Simon was confused why the Captain behaved so.

"That's my home planet. Or at least it was it's a ghost planet now." Mal said "Continue."

"Abigail was gone for two years. When my parents finally found her and brought her back she was pregnant. She had River a few months after she came back and she passed away giving birth to her." Simon looked miserable thinking about his late sister.

"How do you know she was on Shadow?" Mal was trying his best to poke some holes in this crazy story.

"My parents allowed Abigail one favor when it came to River." Simon waited for Mal to catch on and he rolled his eyes when it became apparent he wasn't getting it. "They allowed her to name the baby and River's middle name is Shadow. River Shadow Tam. I remember Abigail having an argument about River's last name as the doctor was doing his best to stitch her up, but my parents were adamant about her last name being Tam." Simon laughed to himself

"So where is River's father?" Simon shrugged indicating he had no clue.

"I doubt he even knows. The trip from Shadow to Osiris takes four months and Abigail was six months pregnant when she got home so I doubt she even knew until they were half way home." Simon was silent for a moment as he thought about how to bring the story back around to River.

"It's a wonderful story Simon, but I don't get how this involves River?" Mal said

"Whatever they did to Abigail was passed down to River, that's why I think it had something to do with her genes. River is-"Simon came to an abrupt halt when Mal cut him off

"Gifted." Simon shook his head.

"River is more than gifted. She is a gift. Everything she does, music, math, theoretical physics- even dance- there was nothing that didn't come as naturally to her as breathing does to us. She only needs to watch someone do something once and she's an expert. "Simon clarified. "That's why I'm taking her to a Rim planet I was hoping we could find her father. She would be safer hiding with him than with me, but I don't even know if he's alive."

"What do you know about him?" Mal was hoping to help. He had a strange fondness for the young girl and he wanted to help in any way he could.

"Nothing much only that he was an independent or that he had the intention of becoming one before the war started." Simon said.

"That doesn't narrow it down much most of the young men on Shadow that were against the Alliance, most of 'em never came home." Mal looked upset as the memories of the war washed over him.

"I'll send you a picture of Abigail through the cortex. See if you recognize her." Just before Simon turned off the wave he said one more thing. "River doesn't know any of this and I would appreciate it if you didn't tell her."

"No problem doctor." Mal nodded. He wandered towards the bridge as he heard Wash shout for him to come to the bridge. As he walked in Wash informed him that the Simon had sent him an image. Mal stopped breathing for a moment as the image popped up on the screen.

"Who's that Mal?" he barely heard Wash behind him. "Mal?"

"Her name is Abigail Tam" He paused feeling his throat going dry and his stomach began to drop. "But I knew her as Sarah Kennan."

"Huh." Wash said staring at the image for just a moment. "Looks a little like River."

River sucked her breath in sharply when she saw Jayne standing in the kitchen eating. She paused there not sure of what to do. She could go back to her room, but it quickly became apparent that she was still drunk and had a hard enough time making it down to the mess without falling. She also didn't want to back down from whatever argument was going to happen between her and Jayne. She continued to stand there leaning against the door frame unaware that Jayne sat there staring at her.

"Hey little girl!" He shouted making her jump nearly out of her skin. "Ya gonna sit there standin' all day or are ya gonna do somethin'" He said. She saw her book sitting on the table next to him and saw her opening to stand up to him and his hard headedness. She walked over quietly and began to read Hamlet from where she left off. It had only been a couple minutes before he decided to open his mouth again.

"Standin' there like some crazy person." He muttered "'course all women are crazy." He rolled his eyes unaware that she was even listening.

"Excuse me?" She lowered her book just low enough to glare at him over the top of it.

"Just sayin' how women folk ain't to be trusted." He scoffed going back to shoving food into his mouth. Neither of them had noticed Wash had walked in behind them to get a cup of coffee.

"Jayne's a girl's name." She smirked going back to reading her book. She heard Jayne's fork drop onto his plate and his breathing increase. He was obviously agitated. She then heard someone behind her trying their best to hold in laughter. This worked out better than she expected. Jayne would be even more upset that someone else had heard the comment.

"Well Jayne ain't a girl!" He yelled. She lowered her book again and raised an eyebrow at him. She silently rose to her feet book still in front of her face. She swayed her hips just slightly as she walked to the door. She turned back around to see Wash smiling waiting to see just how this would play out.

"Can't tell what with all your mood swings." She said before turning back around to walk to her room. She laughed quietly to herself when she heard Jayne yell after her.

"Where ya think yer goin' girl?" She smiled to herself listenin' to how riled up she got him. "This ain't over get back here?"

"I don't know Jayne it kinda looks like it's over" She heard Wash say between giggles.

"Shut it Wash!" Then she heard heavy footsteps coming towards her and with a loud squeak she took off towards her bunk. "Where ya goin' girlie? Get back here!" She laughed as she shut and locked her door. He slammed his hands against her door yelling for her to come out. "Let me in!" he shouted. She smiled to herself knowing she was safe in here. He couldn't get in and there was absolutely nothing her could do about it, but the thing that bothered her was that she wasn't sure she exactly wanted to keep him out.

The drop off had gone well and everyone was now sitting around a table at a bar. River decided that it would be best if she didn't drink considering what happened last time. Instead she was watching some men across the bar have a knife throwing contest. Mal sat there with his head in his hands. River wasn't sure what Simon had said to Mal, but what ever he had been told seemed to bother him. He couldn't stop staring at River who in turn couldn't stop staring at Jayne. He was sitting at the bar with a woman. River frowned. Zoe looked at the young woman and knew exactly where this was heading. She nudged Wash who laughed silently.

"You should have heard the two of them yesterday in the mess. She really upset him." He smiled remembering the altercation.

"What happened?" Zoe knew this was going to be a good story.

"Jayne said something along the lines of women not being trustworthy and River said Jayne was a girl's name." Zoe immediately started laughing.

"Oh I love that little girl more and more each day." Zoe laughed. "I give them two weeks before they start doing it in hidden corners of the cargo bay." Mal's head quickly turned when he heard Zoe's comment.

"There will be absolutely no doing it in corners for River!" he shouted and caused everyone at the table, but River to jump. She was watching Jayne with a smirk on her face.

"Whatcha smilin' at River?" Kaylee questioned causing everyone to turn and look where River's eyes lay.

"Jayne is talking and flirting with a married woman who's husband, I'm assuming it's him by the look on his face, just walked into the bar." She giggled

"How do you know she's married? That could just be her boyfriend or a guy who likes her." Kaylee reasoned, but River shook her head.

"Nope she's wearing a wedding ring." River smiled.

"Oh this is going to be bad." Kaylee said quietly watching the fight begin to unfurl. River watched as both Jayne and the man throw punches and kicks. She then grew concerned when more people joined in. Mal and Zoe popped up quickly and began to fight while Kaylee, Zoe, and Inara quickly ducked out the bar. River had no idea what to do so she just stood there. Watching the fight spread to the whole bar. She felt someone wrap their arms around her and she threw her elbow back and caught whoever it was in the nose. She looked back to see she had dropped a man at least twice her size. Well there was no stopping it now. She was in on this fight. If she was going to fight then she needed to be by someone who knew what they were doing. She made her way over to Jayne as she kicked and punched. He saw her coming and was struck by just how graceful she looked punching a man in the face. Before he knew what hit him they were standing next to each other kicking and flipping about the bar, dropping people left and right. When the fight was over and everyone had either run out or were knocked out they stood there panting and staring at each other.

"Where… did… you learn… to fight" He asked between breaths.

"This is… my first… fight." She smiled pushing some hair out of her face.

"Coulda fooled me." He smirked. She heard someone behind her stand up and begin to speak.

"Flirt with my wife and think ya can get away with it!" She quickly grabbed the knife that was attached to his leg and launched it straight into the man's forehead. She was quite as she watched the man slump to the floor and she turned to smile at Jayne. Her face fell when she took in the image of Jayne standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"How did you do that?" He asked, but River didn't hear him she only noticed the large red stain where Jayne had been shot in the stomach.

"Oh Jayne." She said placing a hand over her mouth and taking a step forward. He finally looked down and saw what she did and then his face twisted into one of concern.

"Oh well that could be a problem." The words left his mouth and he quickly passed out on the ground.

**Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please read and review it gives me the motivation to keep the story going.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I want to thank everyone for the reviews and for favoriting or following this it really does mean a lot. As always I do not own anything.**

Pain was the first thing he felt. He opened his eyes slowly and had to close them again when the bright lights of the infirmary hit them. He groaned slightly and placed an arm over his face. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to turn the lights on full blast. He tried sitting up, but felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"Woah there buddy." He heard Wash say as he pushed him back down. "Careful or you'll tear the weave that River so painstakingly fixed ya up with. She isn't in any condition to be fixin' you up again either." The image of River throwing a knife straight into the guy's forehead came to him. He began to panic when he remembered River had been involved in the brawl. He tried sitting up again before Wash pushed him back down on the bed. "If you tear the weave I'll have to have Zoe come in and fix it." That caused Jayne to lay quickly back down.

"Where's River? Is she okay?" He thought he remembered her crying on the ride back to the ship. He heard Wash laugh at him

"You do have it bad for her don't ya?" He glared at him before thinking about her brown eyes filling with tears. "She's okay just a little tired and dizzy. She's sitting on the ramp watching the sunset."

"Sunset? Last thing I remember it was night." He thought for a moment. "I've been asleep a whole day? Where are we?"

"A day? No. You've been out a whole week. You were touch and go there for awhile, but River patched ya up and said you were gonna be fine. You lost a lot of blood." Wash said pointing to the bandages on his bare stomach.

"What's wrong with River?" Jayne could barely hide the concern in his voice. "Gonna be kinda hard to get paid if we don't keep her safe."

"Nice save." Wash stared at him giving him a knowing smile. "She's okay. She was the only one who matched your blood type. She gave you quite a bit. She gave you blood twice. Which Zoe informed me is dangerous because there is a limit on the amount of blood you can give within a few months time. So she took quite the risk with you. Captain finally kicked her out after three days in here. She's only allowed in to check on your wounds." Jayne raised in eyebrow.

"Why is she checking on my wounds?" Jayne was very confused. Usually Medical stuff was Zoe's area, but now River had taken over it?

"River removed the bullet and fixed ya up. Her brother is some fancy trauma surgeon and she learned a few things from him." Wash smiled remembering how concerned River was about Jayne.

"She's okay though?" Jayne finally sat up slowly with Wash's help.

"Yea she's good." They were quiet for a moment. "You like her don't you?"

"No… maybe… I don't know." Jayne heaved a sigh and swung his legs over the side of the infirmary bed. "I need help Wash."

"Mental or…?" Wash smiled as Jayne glared at him again.

"I need help wooing River." Jayne looked at his feet embarrassed that he had to ask for help, but to be honest he had no experience with Girls from the Core.

"Why not ask Mal?" Jayne looked at him while Wash thought of Mal's history with Inara and then laughed to himself. "nevermind."

"So will you help?" Wash smiled at him and nodded. Neither of them noticed Zoe or Kaylee who happened to be standing next to the door. They both turned to smiled at each other and Kaylee motioned for Zoe to follow her as she made her way to the engine room.

"So…" Kaylee grinned. "It appears that Jayne has quite the little crush on our dear River… and he's asking Wash for help… Think we should intervene?"

"No I think we should wait and see how horribly this plays out." Zoe smirked and walked away trying to contain laughter as she listened to Kaylee giggle.

River sat there quietly with Mal watching the sunset as he handed her some more food. She put her hands up trying to tell him she was full, but he glared at her and she begrudgingly took another bite. Mal smiled at her and stood up.

"I gotta go talk to Wash about when we're leaving this dusty rock." She smiled and nodded as he walked off. Once he was out of sight she spit the protein mash back on her plate and looked back at the sunset.

"I saw that." She jumped slightly and turned to look at who was in the room at her. She smiled weakly when she saw Jayne. He saw how pale and weak she looked and he felt bad. If he hadn't gotten shot she wouldn't have needed to get any blood from her and she wouldn't be just as bad off as he was. She turned back to look at the sunset as he sat down next to her.

"Are you going to tattle on me?" She didn't look at him, but he heard the playful tone in her voice and the ghost of a smile on her face.

"Maybe…" he grinned. He watched her for several moments as she sat there quietly. She looked a little less pale with the warm glow of the evening sun. He had never seen someone look so strong and so weak at the same time. She looked at him and he quickly turned to stare at the sunset with her. She smiled at him.

"How are you feeling?" She finally broke the comforting silence that seemed to pass between them.

"I'm okay. Hurts to laugh a little, but nothing I can't manage." He had no idea how to handle this. He looked around trying to think of anything to come up with to start a conversation.

"_Thank her for saving her life." _He heard Wash's voice come through the ear piece he had. He had totally forgotten about it the moment he saw her.

"I just wanted to thank you for everything you did." He stumbled over his words. She smiled at how adorable he was when he was nervous.

"Your welcome." She said "Anybody else would have done the same thing."

"Probably not." He shrugged. "You really are something." She smiled at him.

"Well thank you for that, but I'm not all that special." She said.

"_Doing great Jayne." _ Wash wasn't nearly as helpful as Jayne thought he would be.

"How are you feeling?" Jayne asked. He felt his mouth go dry and his brain continued to not function correctly.

"Well just some side effects of giving too much blood. Nothing life threatening, but enough to knock me on my ass." She finally turned her body to face him completely. "Mal hasn't left me alone since I passed out walking out of the infirmary the second time I gave you blood."

"You passed out?!" Jayne couldn't believe she had risked her own body for him and now he had an idea of exactly how bad it was.

"Yea just for a minute. I'm fine. Just a little Dizzy and weak. My body will make more blood no worries." She looked at him through her long thick lashes and he felt his heart stop for just a moment. "I mean I couldn't let you die." His mouth dropped open and he watched as she giggled and turned to watch the people who were walking around the docks late at night. Her laughter sounded like the sweetest music he had ever heard. They watched as some man made his way down the street. He was obviously from the core and as he wandered down the docks he continued to look down his nose at everyone. Jayne laughed as the same man who just looked down on everyone around him made a deal with a slummy looking whore and wandered off with her into an alley.

"Oh my." River raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Oh yea you see that all the time down here." He said wrapping an arm around her shoulder pointing out a few other fancy core men picking up a few whores.

"You would think with the money they would pick out a companion." She didn't even bother to bring up his arm around her afraid that he might remove it. Its warmth was comforting.

"Yea well some of them fancy core folk jus' like a good ol' fashion dirty romp." She rolled her eyes. "No it's true! Them stuck up fancy core bred jerks are always looking down their noses at us, but that's until they get some whores legs around them." She glared at him. He mistook the glare for confusion and continued. "I heard that all them people in the core are inbred anyways. Marrying cousins and what not to keep the wealth in the family."

"Excuse me?!" She was taken aback no one had ever spoken like that in front of her. Did he even realize that she was from the core.

"_Whoa Jayne back it up. Think about what you're saying!"_ He heard Wash, but he wasn't paying attention. His mouth continued to flap long after his brain stopped working.

"Well you know. They like to keep their money all to themselves. So they marry their daughters off to old men and their own kin. So lots of inbred babies. That's why theys all look the same. With their pale skin… and… dark…" It just dawned on him who he was speaking to.

"_ABORT MISSIONS! ABORT MISSION!" _He heard Wash scream at him through the ear piece.

"You are a complete and utter waste of my time!" She screamed wobbling a little when she stood up. He reached up to steady her. She smacked his hands away. "Don't touch me!" She screamed causing Mal to run in afraid that someone was trying to take her away. "I wouldn't want you to stoop so low as to touch someone who was inbred!" She turned on her heels and stormed off as quickly as she could. Jayne stood up to follow her, but was reminded that he had been shot when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"What did you do?" Mal yelled following after River.

"_I can't fix this Jayne. With sweet words like that I wonder how you're not married with at least one child on the way." _He heard Wash huff through the ear piece.

"Shut it little man." He looked up when he heard a small giggle come from the walkway. He saw Kaylee and Zoe staring down at him. "How long have you two been standing there?" He asked rubbing a hand through his hair.

"Long enough to see you make a complete ass of yourself." Zoe smirked raising an eyebrow at him.

"You do realize she's from Osiris right?" Kaylee giggled again.

"Well yea I do now!" He huffed before turning to walk away towards his own bunk.

"Hey Jayne!" He turned to see Zoe smirking at him.

"What?" He hollered probably a little ruder than he should have.

"Your outer stitches tore and I'm not gonna fix it for you. Guess who you're gonna have to ask." She smiled before walking off towards the bridge. He thought for a moment that maybe the bleeding would stop on its own, but when the bright red spot continued to grow he knew he had to suck up his pride and go ask River for help.

She sat on her bed letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks. She wondered to herself if that's what all the people out here thought of her and her brother. Was it always going to be like this? Mal had tried his best to calm her down, but she wouldn't even let him in the room. To be honest she was getting kind of tired the Captain constantly being around to make sure she was okay. She knew he had watched her grow up, but this was absolutely ridiculous. She heard another sharp knock on the door.

"I'm fine Captain!" She said a little harsher than she needed to. "Please just leave me alone for awhile."

"It's me." Oh. It was Jayne. She glared at the door for a second before she realized he couldn't see what she was doing and she smacked herself in the forehead.

"What do you want? Here to call my brother and I some more names?" She spat.

"No I need your help." He pleaded as he felt the blood begin to flow freely down his stomach. He sounded desperate so she quickly crossed the room and opened the door and saw Jayne standing there holding his stomach. She looked down to see the bright red stain that was sweeping across his bandage and the blood that slowly trickled down his stomach.

"What Happened!" She asked grabbing his hand and leading him towards the infirmary.

"I stood up to follow you. To apologize, but when I stood up the weave must have torn." He said sitting down on the bed.

"It's not a weave." She smiled. "It's stitches. The weave goes on the inside stitches on the skin."

"Oh. Well now I know." He smirked and she secretly cursed herself for not being able to stay mad at him.

"Lay back. I gotta fix you before you bleed out." He listened as she began to grab everything she needed. "I don't think I can give you anymore blood." They both chuckled a little before she started to work dutifully on the few stitches that had popped open.

"Look I'm sorry about what I said. I'm an idiot." He said looking at his stomach where she was finishing up her stitches.

"It's alright. You're not an idiot either, you just didn't think before you spoke. Next time you're trying to talk to a girl I suggest you do that." He laughed a little before grimacing as she closed the wound. "Good thing you don't like me otherwise you really would have blown your chances." She laughed a little to herself before beginning to put everything away.

"Yes." He frowned behind her back. "Good thing."

She had been moping around the ship for an entire week. She wasn't laughing or smiling. She wasn't making her usual jokes that were way over everyone's heads and it concerned him. He finally cornered her one night while she practiced her dancing in the cargo bay. She was in the middle of a complex move when he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"What's going on River?" He looked into her eyes as she tried to pull her shoulders away.

"Absolutely nothing. Now if you please let me go I would like to finish my dancing." She said finally wrenching her shoulders away from him.

"No. Something is wrong. I thought we were friends? What is going on Riv?" She looked up at him she had never had a nickname before, unless you counted Simon calling her a brat and she didn't. She got lost for just a moment in his is eyes before she snapped back to reality.

"Well…" she said sitting down on one of the crates behind her. "In 2 days I'm no longer allowed to leave the boat. I waved Simon to tell him how nervous I was and how excited I would be once he finally picked me up and he told me something that has made me question everything about my life." She sighed heavily feeling more tears well up in her eyes.

"Aw c'mon don't do that. I hate it when you women folk cry." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She nodded wiping away her tears and continued the story.

"Well he said he wasn't sure if he was coming to get me or not. I asked him why and he said he was trying to get in contact with my father." Jayne was dumbfounded he thought her brother was trying to help her and now he was trying to turn her in? "When I asked him why he was telling father what happened he said not his father he said he was trying to find my father! He said that he was actually my uncle and that my mother ran away when she was younger and when they finally found her she was living on Shadow. Half way back to Osiris they found out she was pregnant. She died in childbirth and didn't tell anyone who my real father is. Simon is trying to contact him to take me, but he's not sure if he's even alive." She began to sob again. "I'm starting to think that maybe I should just marry Atherton and get it over with." He grabbed her by the face and made her look at him.

"Don't ever say that! Hell worse comes to worse you can always just stay on here. Mal sure had taken a shine to ya." She smiled at him.

"Do you really think he will?" She looked hopeful.

"Yea and if not maybe my Ma will take ya in." He pulled her into a tight hug.

Mal watched from above not sure how he should handle the feelings between River and Jayne, but right now he had to contact the girl's uncle and let him know everything. Mal wasn't sure he would believe him or even allow him to take the girl once he knew the truth. Mal had missed 18 years of parenting, he had missed her first steps, her first words, and he had even missed her birth. Sure he had watched her grow as someone who worked for the Tams, but there is a difference and he didn't plan on missing anymore of her life than was absolutely necessary. He turned on the wave and as the familiar face of the doctor came on screen he felt his stomach twist into knots.

"Ah Captain Reynolds. How are you?" Simon smiled politely.

"NO time for pleasantries you and I need to have a little chat about River." Mal said with a straight face preparing himself for the story he hadn't thought of in nearly twenty years.

**Let me know what you guys think. Please read and review. Your reviews let me know you're still reading and they give me inspiration to keep going. Also they brighten up my day. Constructive Criticism is always welcome if there is anything you don't like or that I messed up let me know and I will do my best to fix it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright thank you for following this story and reviewing it. I would like to clear up a few things in this chapter. I changed a few things from the original story of the show and movie. The war in the show took place when River was about six, but in my story I changed it to when she's about a year or so and it was also a year or two shorter. I do not own anything. **

Mal held up the picture he had taken from his bunk. The smiling girl who still made his heart flutter just by thinking of her voice. He watched Simon's face change from one of confusion to one of horror and understanding. Mal nodded at the unasked question. He looked once more at the picture. He remembered when the picture was taken.

_They had been together over a year and he loved her more than life itself. He had asked her to go on a picnic with the idea of asking her to marry him. After the food had been eaten and they had laid there staring up at the clouds he rolled over to look at her. She smiled at him and his mouth dried and he found it almost impossible to speak. _

"_Why yes Malcolm Reynolds I will marry you." She teased him by tapping a finger against the tip of his nose. He gapped at her slightly and then grinned. _

"_How'd you know?" He smiled turning back to look at the clouds. _

"_Why Malcolm Reynolds you act as if you've never met me." She smirked. "Also you left the ring out on the kitchen table two nights ago." She laughed holding her stomach as he rolled over on top of her. She shrieked as he began to tickle her. _

Before he knew it he was staring back into the face of a very worried core doctor. Mal wiped away a tear at the thought of the woman who seemed like she had been gone forever before he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I didn't know until you sent the picture doc. No clue." Simon pressed his lips tightly together trying to figure out the best course of action.

"How could you not tell? River looks exactly like Abigail, well except for the few traits she got from you and your side of the family." Mal nodded he did see a bit of his late mother in her if he looked close enough.

"I watched River grow up from a little five year old girl and into a woman. By the time I started working for your father I had tried my best to push every thought and image of Sarah…" He paused. " Of Abigail from my mind I think she could have been standing in front of me yelling at me and declaring her love and I would have never seen her." Mal looked at his hands which still held the picture of the smiling woman who had once meant everything to him.

"How long did you look for her?" Simon frowned.

"Two years. I searched for two years and then I joined the war and pushed everything from my mind." Mal hated to think about Sarah… his Sarah going through everything alone and then dying alone never seeing how wonderful their daughter had grown up to be.

"But why push her from your mind? Why not keep looking with everything you had? If you loved her why not fight for her?" Simon was growing angry thinking all this time River's father had been there the whole time.

"I did love her and don't you tell me any different!" Mal yelled. "I loved her and when I woke up one morning and she was gone I felt like a part of me left also! I couldn't function and when it finally seeped in that she wasn't coming back I had to push her from my mind to be able to function during the day!"

"But why think she left you willingly?" Simon's faced returned to its confused state.

"She was from the core and as much as she denied it everyone on Shadow knew where she came from. It didn't make a lick of sense for her to want someone like me, but she did." Mal thought back to everything they shared and smiled.

"She looked happy." Simon coughed nervously. "In the picture I mean. She looked like she was really happy."

"She was. At least I think she was." Mal smiled. "So what's the plan with River?"

"Well she knows the basics. I told her last week." Simon frowned thinking of how she reacted to the news; screaming and yelling about how it was all lies and then breaking down and refusing to take any waves from him.

"Yea, but how are we gonna tell her that I'm her father? When are we gonna tell her?" Mal asked wiping his face with his hand thinking about how many more issues this was gonna cause.

"Right now." Mal turned to see River standing there staring at him as her eyes filled with tears. He heard Simon's deep intake of breath as he tried to think of something to say. "So how long have you known Captain?" He took a step towards her, but she put her right foot behind her preparing to bolt.

"What?" He heard her, but his brain had ceased to work.

"How long have you known you're my father?!" She shrieked at him causing both Kaylee and Zoe to run towards them.

"Nearly a month." He said watching her with extreme caution. He was prepared to run after her. What he wasn't prepared for was the right hook she hit him with, knocking him to the ground, right before she ran away. "Doc I'm gonna have to talk to ya later. We'll figure things out then."

River ran through the ship as fast as her legs could carry her, but since she had given Jayne so much of her blood a week ago she wasn't in the best of shape. She streaked past Wash in the dining room as she tried to find some place, any place to hide. Inara gave her a questioning look, but figured it was best to remain out of it. The only person who tried to stop her was Jayne who had been sitting on a couch in a sitting area, but quickly jumped up when he heard her. She decided the best place to be was in her room with the door locked. She heard Jayne begin to beat on the door, but she remained silent as he called out to her.

"Riv. Are you okay? What's wrong?" His voice was filled with concern as he tried and failed to open the door. "Riv-girl don't make me go get Kaylee's tools and take this door down." She stuck her tongue out at the door. "And don't stick your tongue out at me! Your not a child so don't act like one."

"How did you?" She smirked at the door she hadn't been on the ship for very long, but she had spent enough time with Jayne that she figured he would know what she would do if he teased her.

"River open the door! I will take this door down and then I will drag you through the ship by your feet until you tell me what's going on!" She thought for just a moment before she crossed her room and let him in. He looked at her for just a moment and lifted his right hand to wipe away the streaks the tears had left on her cheeks. "You want to tell me what's got your panties in a twist?" He smiled at her and she motioned for him to come into her room. She quickly turned to see Kaylee standing there with a grin on her face as she turned to walk back towards the mess.

"It has been a long few months for me." She huffed throwing herself on her bed.

"Well yea what with your impending marriage" He smirked when she slapped him in the arm "And you finding out your brother isn't your brother and your parents aren't your parents. It's 'nough to get anyone down, but what can possibly have put you in such a tizzy now?"

"Yea well do you remember me telling you Simon is searching for my father?" He nodded and she continued. "Yea well he didn't have to search far."

"What do you mean? He find him?" She nodded "What was he some guy from the core? One o' his friends or some family servant?" She laughed at the last one.

"Friend no Servant sort of, but only after I was born." He gave her a puzzled look and she giggled a little more. She didn't know why he put her in such a good mood, but he did and despite everything she had been through she was glad that someone could still make her smile.

"So who is it?" He was a little upset that they had found her father this quickly. He was hoping she would stay on the boat a little longer. He was hoping he could convince her to stay forever, but he knew that would never happen.

"It's uh… It's the Captain." He stopped breathing for a second. "And I had to find out today of all days." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"What makes today so special?" He wasn't even going to ask about Mal until she was absolutely ready to discuss it.

"Well it's my last day of freedom before I have to stay on the ship the remainder of my journey." She smiled sadly. "I just wanted to see the town a little before I had to spend so much time on the ship. It's spring on Pulcer you know?" He nodded

"Well who says you can't Mal don't need me for this job why don't you and I go make a night of it?" he nudged her. She looked up with a hopeful grin that caused his stomach to clench and it made his chest feel extremely warm.

"Sounds like fun." She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't help but feel that things were just as they should be in that moment.

Kaylee was grinning as she walked into the mess with her little secret about Jayne and River. She sat down quietly at the table as everyone continued to go about their business. She laughed to herself lightly as Inara helped place a cool damp cloth over Mal's eye. River really did have quite the right hook. Wash heard Kaylee laugh to herself and knew by the look on her face that she had some juicy new piece of gossip.

"Well don't you look like the Raptor that ate the Albertonykus." He smirked.

"What?" Kaylee was very confused.

"I think he means the cat that ate the Canary, but that saying means there is some form of guilt for doing something pleasurable. Kaylee's face is more of a really good gossip face." Inara said walking away from Mal and sitting down in front of Kaylee.

"Well before we get to Kaylee's gossip I want to know what happened to the Captain's eye." Wash laughed to himself.

"River punched him." Zoe smirked sitting on Wash's lap.

"Wait a minute. You got beat up by a 90 pound girl?" Wash snickered "What did you do?"

"Why do you assume I did something?" Mal sputtered. Wash eyed him carefully before opening his mouth.

"Really?" Zoe elbowed him and Wash quickly shut his mouth.

"Alright" Mal took a deep breath before deciding that the crew needed to know. "Short story is that River's brother told me that she is actually his niece and that her mother, his sister, died in childbirth. Basically he was trying to find her father so she could live with him and well he found him… It's me… I'm River's father." Everyone was really quiet for a moment.

"Okay… a little unexpected, but really out of everyone I know you are the one that this was most likely to happen to." Wash joked "Moving on to Kaylee's juicy gossip." They all turned to stare at Kaylee.

"Oh well I don't know if it's such a good idea now… that we know… about… Hey Wash don't you have to land the ship?" Wash thought for a second.

"You know we will be landing in about twenty minutes so I guess I should be making my way to the bridge." Just as he was about to leave he turned around to look at the Captain. "Hey Mal I'm not gonna run into anymore of your secret kids up there am I?" Mal threw the wash rag at him, but it missed and they could hear Wash laughing all the way to the bridge.

"Alright little Kaylee what are ya avoidin'?" Mal narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well… I saw Jayne and River… go into her room… together…. And then she locked the door." It took less than two seconds for Mal to get up out of his seat and make his way to the passenger dorms. He tried to open her door, but Kaylee was right it was locked tight.

"Jayne you better not be in that room with her. Why are there locked doors on my ship?!" He was screaming through the door while he tried to pull it open. It seemed like it took forever, but the door finally opened and right in front of him stood River with the same defiant glare that Sarah use to give him. Behind her stood Jayne who had his hands raised up as if to say I didn't do anything.

"Yes?" She continued to glare at him.

"Why are you locking doors on my ship? Why are you in a locked room with Jayne… alone… on my ship?!" He was trying his best to stay calm, but he was failing miserably.

"Why don't you know daddy dearest. We were having rough, violent passionate sex! We couldn't do that unless we locked the doors!" She raised her eyebrows at him defiantly. "Now if you don't mind getting out our way Jayne and I have some more plans to attend to." She grabbed Jayne by the wrist and dragged him towards the cargo bay. "We'll be back in a few hours don't leave without us!" She yelled back. Mal turned to see Zoe and Kaylee standing there behind him snickering.

"I am really starting to love that little girl more and more every time she opens her mouth." She smiled before following after Jayne and River. "C'mon sir looks like Jayne won't be helping us on this job and we have a lot of cargo to move off the ship." Mal stuttered for a few minutes before he felt Kaylee pat him on the back.

"Don't worry Captain. They'll be back before you can spit." He didn't notice the evil little smirk she gave him. "Besides I think if they were actually having sex we would have heard them."

Jayne followed her carefully to the atm as she pulled out her card. She quickly withdrew all funds and threw the card in the trash. She handed him some money before pocketing the rest and continuing on her way toward the shops.

"What's the money for?" Jayne asked as he followed her from shop to shop.

"Well I don't think the Captain will be paying you for not working and after the scene I made." She frowned "I should apologize for that. I believe I just made things extremely difficult for you on the boat."

"No worries Riv." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they continued to walk. She gave him a questioning look, but then saw the boys across the road eyeing her and she simply took it to mean he was keeping them away from her. "Besides I doubt anyone thinks we were having sex."

They walked in silence for about a half hour in total silence while Jayne thought some things over. She took in every sight and sound believing it would be her last for awhile before he finally spoke.

"You know you don't have to stay on the boat." He said just loud enough for her to hear.

"What do you mean?" She looked up astonished. She had forgotten he was there for just a moment while she was lost in her thoughts.

"Well I mean if you change how you look then no one will recognize you." He smiled at her and she felt her heart flutter for just a moment. "You know cut your hair and change your clothes."

"That's actually a pretty decent plan. Perhaps I'll buy some clothes and I will cut my hair back on the boat." She kissed him on the cheek. He placed his hand briefly on the warm spot that seemed to be stuck on his face and smiled.

"No problem." He said "figured if you're anything like me you'll hate being stuck on the boat any longer than necessary." She nodded as they made their way to the park that was just off to the right. She looked around at the trees and flowers that were just starting to bloom. A sea of colors popped out at her and she was mesmerized. She picked up a small pink flower and placed it against her nose to smell it.

"Pulcer really lives up to its name doesn't it?" She said handing him the flower to smell.

"I guess what does it mean?" He had no idea about any of the planets names. It wasn't something that was absolutely necessary for survival so he never figured it was worth knowing. If he would have known back when he was in school that a beautiful, if not tiny, girl would be asking him about it he would have taking the time to know every detail.

"Pulcer is Latin for beautiful." She smiled.

"Oh well then yea I guess it does." He noticed her blush and kept walking with her. "So is this how you pictured yer life back on yer high society planet?" She smacked him in the arm.

"No. I figured that my parents…." She paused realizing her mistake. "My grandparents would try and marry me off like they did and I would be stuck popping out kids in an unhappy marriage." She frowned as she kicked a rock across the path they were walking. "But what I really wanted from life was to see the stars and all the planets. I use to dream when I was little about gallivanting with smugglers and pirates and about living on a ship. Going from place to place and seeing the stars up close." Jayne smirked down at her.

"So how's that workin' out fer' ya?" She laughed and then looked at him.

"Pretty good. Is this how you pictured your life?" She stopped walking and looked up at him expectantly waiting for his answer.

"Yep this is exactly how I pictured it. Being annoyed by a tiny little slip of a girl from the core who don't know a damn thing about the verse. Oh also when I dreamed about her she had to have a lot of family issues." He flashed her a grin.

"You're such a jerk." She laughed and then quickly kicked him in the shin before taking off down the path at full speed.

"You little brat." He smirked knowing that this was all in good fun as he chased her down.

They were both out of breath when he finally caught up with her. She had stopped just ahead of him and when he caught her he wrapped his arms around her pinning her arms down at her sides. She squealed with as he twirled her about.

"Say ya give up and I'll put ya down." He yelled as she continued to laugh.

"Alright you win." He gently set her down and she turned around to face him. Neither of them backed away so they were still pressed up against each other. As he leaned in to kiss her she stopped him as she spoke.

"We should probably be heading back to the market so I can buy some new clothes." She pulled back and turned to walk towards the market they had just left. She couldn't get involved with him. She couldn't drag him into the mess that was her life. She would be putting him in too much danger. So as she shopped for new clothes on the way back to the ship they remained quiet and when they finally got back to the ship she thank him quietly and grabbed her bags then locked her self in her room and began to cry. Kaylee who had watched the whole scene play out when they had walked back up the ramp finally opened her mouth to speak when she saw how upset Jayne was.

"What happened Jayne?" She placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"I don't know." He said before walking towards his bunk quietly.

**Let me know what you think Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please read and review. Your reviews let me know that you like the story and are still reading it. They also give me the push I need to continue. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I really like how this chapter turned out. I hope you guys do to. I do not own anything and no copyright infringement is intended. **

It had been quiet on the ship the past few weeks. River was doing her best to avoid Jayne who in turn was doing his best to find her. She spent most of her time hiding in her locked room allowing only Inara, Zoe and Kaylee in. Jayne had to bring her food once and she refused to open the door until he left. So now he found himself in the cargo bay lifting weights while Mal glared at him from afar.

"Did I do something wrong?" Jayne asked a little terrified that Mal was gonna space him for something he didn't even do.

"You want to explain why River won't come out of her room or you know talk to any man on this ship?" Mal crossed his arms trying to look tough, but Jayne's laughter immediately told him that he looked stupid.

"Heck I ain't got no clue Mal. Probably women's troubles." Mal seemed to take that answer okay as he walked back towards the bridge. Jayne returned to his workouts only to be nailed by a water balloon that had been dropped from the cat walk. He sat up straight wiping away the water on his face with his towel. "What in the sam hell you doin' Kaylee." He looked up and promptly shut his mouth. Up on the walkway sat River smiling as if she had just been given a reprieve from her marriage contract.

"Oh why Jayne what happened. You look like your wet." She giggled raising her hand to her mouth and if Jayne hadn't been so pissed he would have thought it was adorable.

"Well no shit I'm all wet. Why the hell you nail me wit' a water balloon?" He yelled at her, but she just continued to giggle uncontrollably. He turned when he turned to see Wash staring at him all wide eyed. Soon Wash was laughing at him which just caused him to get more upset.

"What the hell happened to you Jayne? You're all red." Wash could barely get the statement out before he started laughing all over again.

"'Course I'm all red girl just nailed me with a water balloon." Jayne stretched his arm out to River who was sitting cross legged on the walk way still giggling.

"NO Jayne I mean you're red. Like the color red. I don't think that was a water balloon. Paint balloon maybe, but not water." Wash saw where this was going and stopped laughing. Jayne looked down at his hands and clothing which were covered with a bright red liquid and he let out a loud guttural yell.

"What the hell was in that balloon girlie?" Jayne had made it half way to the stairs before he spoke. River seemed unafraid so she didn't move.

"Water." She shrugged. "And maybe a chemical that turns red when it comes in contact with sweat." She smiled at him raising an eyebrow almost daring him to do something.

"How the hell do I get it off?" He was a mere feet from her.

"A very hot shower and maybe scrubbing your top layer of skin off. You may be pink for awhile." She smirked which caused him to yell again.

"What the hell I do to ya?" He asked leaning down into her personal space. There noses were almost touching.

"Who knows why I do things these days Jayne. Maybe I just have woman problems." She said with a straight face letting him know that she had heard his earlier comment. She waited a few minutes for him to say something before she turned to walk back to her bunk.

"Oh just ya wait girlie! I'm gonna get ya fer this!" He turned when he heard Wash laughing again. What he wasn't prepared for was to see the whole crew standing there staring at him with wide eyes trying their best to hold in their own laughter. "And the rest of ya can just go to hell." He stormed off muttering something about stupid core girls. Once he was out of ear shot the crew busted up with the exception of Mal who had a worried look on his face.

"What's a matter cap'in?" Kaylee asked wiping tears away from her eyes.

"This is not going to be good." He said sitting down and placing his head in his hands as he began to think of all of River's pranks back on Osiris.

"What do ya mean? Just a little harmless prankin' ain't nothin' gonna happen." She said smiling.

"No you don't understand. River will not stop with pranks if he retaliates. We all know Jayne ain't just gonna let this go." Zoe nodded her agreement. He looked up to see Inara and the rest of the group were very confused. "When she was about fifteen Simon scared away a young suitor who had taken quite a liking to her. She was very upset so she waited until he went back to school a few weeks later and he had a big presentation. During the middle of his presentation she rigged the tablet he was using to show slides on the wall to shut off the minute he turned it back on it had switched to porn." He heard Wash snicker before Zoe smacked him on the arm telling him the story wasn't over yet.

"Well that ain't that bad. I mean Simon is a doctor right?" Mal nodded telling her she was right. "Well I mean ain't like no one at the school ain't ever seen a naked person."

"No you don't understand. It was a woman having sex with animals."Kaylee slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Not e to self do not piss little River off." Wash said to himself

"Exactly." Mal nodded. Book looked absolutely flabbergasted as well as Inara.

"Ma I think I can handle this. I am actually getting ready to go to River's room to cut her hair." Kaylee gave her a questioning look. "So she can leave the ship unnoticed." Kaylee simply nodded showing she understood. "I will talk to her see if we can stop this before things get out of control."

"That's a great idea Inara." She smiled at Mal's praise and walked off towards River's bunk. "Book Jayne respects you see if you can speak with him." Book nodded silently and wandered off towards the crew bunks

"So what do you want the rest of us to do?" Kaylee asked smiling sweetly. Mal thought silently for a moment. He thought back to every prank and every snide remark River made since he had met her. She was a forced to be reckoned with, just like her mother. Then he smiled, which made Kaylee and Zoe a little nervous.

"I think you all need to hold on to somethin' Cause we got another three days until we get to St. Alban's and it's gonna be one hell of a ride." He quickly stood up and walked towards his bunk. "If anyone needs me I will be hiding in my bunk." He yelled back causing Kaylee and Zoe to panic before they too went off to do something useful and hopefully hide from the impending storm they saw coming.

Inara swept the brush one last time through River's long chocolate brown waves before taking a deep breath picking up the scissors. She had cut hair before at the training house it was almost impossible to get a good stylist to stay out there and so the girls often learned to cut each others hair. She didn't bother asking River if she was sure because she knew being stuck on this boat for an unspecified amount of time was like being locked in a prison and River had to be free. She had spent her entire life being told what to do and how to do it, but now out here in the black she was finally free.

It had taken the better part of an hour to chop all of her hair off and River had been extremely patient. Inara knew how hard this was for her. In core society a woman's hair was everything, but River knew just as everyone else knew she wasn't core, not anymore. Inara gave her hair one more check before she announced she was finished as she handed her a mirror.

"It looks wonderful Inara thank you." River felt her hair. It had been cut so it fell just to her chin. It was shocking and a lot to take in all at once. "Although I don't really think it will matter for the next few weeks." She shrugged. Inara gave her a questioning look before she began to pull River's hair back into small pig tails on the back of her head.

"Why's that dear?" Inara was doing her best to pull all the pieces of hair back.

"Well we're going to St. Alban's and being from Osiris…" River trailed off when she saw Inara's glance of understanding.

"You don't have any winter clothes." River nodded while Inara thought for a moment. "You know I have some old clothes that don't fit me anymore maybe I have a few winter items in there you can borrow." She grabbed the girl by the shoulders and turned her around to face her. "You look beautiful River. Let's go show everyone your new hair." River smiled at the older woman. She knew that Inara was in love with Mal, her father, but River wondered if she had just driven a wedge between the two.

"Alright let me change first into the new clothes I bought." Inara nodded and went to stand right out next to her door. As she waited for the younger girl her thoughts turned towards Mal. She thought about how he had never told her about River's mother and how if he truly loved her, like she thought he did because Buddha knows he never told her, then why wouldn't he tell her about this woman. Her thoughts came to a quick halt as she turned to see River place her feet carefully out into the hall.

Kaylee was busy cooking and trying her best not to hear the lecture that Book was giving Jayne. She seasoned the nasty smelling protein mash before beginning to set the table. She heard Book say something about taking advantage of River and she snorted her own objection causing both Book and Jayne to turn and look at her.

"Something bothering you Kaylee?" Book asked politely.

"Umm…well I mean you act as if River is this innocent little girl who can't handle herself." Kaylee said placing some mismatched silverware on the table.

"Isn't she?" Book raised an eyebrow.

"Well no I mean I know you weren't at the bar during the fight or you know the knife throwing, but she can take care of herself." She began to place the plate down when she thought of something else that made her smile. "Plus she's Mal's daughter so…" Kaylee smiled when Book's face glazed over with understanding.

"Never mind son." Book patted Jayne's leg and gave him a sympathetic look. "Kaylee has a point if you are getting involved with our young River it's best to just grab on and prepare for quite the ride." Book then stood up and walked over his place at the table. They all turned when the heard small footsteps heading their way. Kaylee smiled when she saw River walk in. Book nodded approvingly at the girl's make over and Jayne simply stood there with his mouth hanging open.

River was wearing a plain white strapless linen dress. It came down to about mid-thigh and was cinched at the waist with a thick brown belt. She looked nothing like the spoiled core girl she once was with her hair chopped short and pulled back in tiny pig tails that seemed to jut out from the base of her skull.

"River you look absolutely shiny!" Kaylee squealed running over to hug the girl. River patted her on the back and did her best to keep her eyes away from Jayne.

"You look Lovely River." Book smiled taking in the girl carefully.

"Don't she look right shiny Jayne?" Kaylee said trying to show River off. River looked down at her feet as she played with the hem of her dress waiting for Jayne's reply.

"Looks like a little boy in a dress iffen ya ask me." Jayne scoffed. "Ain't got nothin' up top to keep a fella interested." River heard Kaylee and Inara's sharp intake of breath as River made her way over to Jayne carefully placing one foot directly in front of the other.

"Now River let's not do anything Rash." She put a hand up to silence Book as she came to stand directly in front of the man in question. She pushed her body right up against his and noticed he began to have difficulty breathing. She smiled and raised her self up onto her tip toes her mouth just at the bottom edge of his jaw. He brought his mouth down and she pulled back slightly as he moved in to kiss her. She smiled sweetly at him unaware that everyone who lived on the boat watching them with baited breath.

"Well now Jayne it seems as if the man with the girls name is turned on by girl's who look like little boys in dresses." She gave him a wicked smile as he began to catch on. "What does that say about you?" She raised an eyebrow before turning and sitting down at the table. Jayne stared at her dumbfounded before storming out of the mess when he heard Wash start to snicker. Mal looked around at everyone as the took their seats slowly unsure of what was going to happen. They all looked around nervously before beginning to eat silently.

"It's gonna be a long three days." Mal said to himself quietly before he too began to eat.

Much to Mal's excitement it was a relatively short and quiet trip. Jayne and River avoided each other like the plague and it made for a relaxing journey. River had taken to her new wardrobe and haircut a lot better than everyone had thought and it seemed to suit her. Mal was moving the last of the crates the were hauling when he turned to the sound of laughter coming from River's room. He thought it would be bet to stay out of it. River didn't seem to want anything from Mal, but a ride to somewhere safe. He wasn't sure how he felt about that or if he even wanted a daughter, but he couldn't lie that it stung a little. He saw Inara standing there when he turned around staring at him. He thought she was there to argue, but he then saw that she had nothing, but compassion in her eyes.

"You have to giver her time Mal." She smiled as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll come around, but this is a lot for her."

"I know." He sighed before pulling his shoulder away and grabbing another crate. "Just hurts. Feels like I just got Sarah back and she's being ripped away all over again." She nodded.

"Well I should be getting ready." She smiled swallowing back her own sadness. "Don't want to be cold while River and I shop on St. Alban's" She turned quickly and as he watched her walk away he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just really hurt Inara.

River stood on the ramp waiting for Kaylee to join her. Inara had been not feeling well so their shopping trip had been canceled so Kaylee had offered to go to the bar with her. She felt anxious to actually go and touch snow. She heard heavy footsteps and turned to see Jayne. The way he looked at her made her feel uncomfortable and she wasn't sure why.

He was still upset about what had happened between him and River a few days back and so he had spent most of his time trying to avoid her, but at some point he would have to speak to her about….hell he didn't know about everything. He was walking toward the cargo bay guns strapped to him, stomping a little more than he probably needed to and then he came to a complete stop when he saw her. She looked like some angel standing there with a snowy back drop. She was wearing some thick fur lined winter boots that came up to about mid calf and she was wearing some thick wooly tights that were a very dark black. Her Coat came down to her mid thighs and was buttoned with the hood pulled up around her head. She smiled sweetly at him and he felt his heart skip a few beats.

"River looks mighty lovely don't she?" He heard Kaylee giggle behind him and he quickly walked off towards where River stood.

"Gonna freeze yer ass off playin' in the snow without pants." He grumbled

"Oh we are not playing in the snow." She said a little shocked he was speaking to her. "Kaylee and I are heading to the bar."

"Yea cause you and bars worked so well the first time." He said making his way out to where Mal and Zoe were waiting.

Kaylee and River were sitting at the bar drinking some concoction Kaylee called a lemon drop and River was doing her best to sip rather than gulp. River was not in the mood to get drunk. Kaylee however was quite hammered as a young man bought her drinks left and right. Mal and Zoe had joined them a few minutes prior and River wanted to head back to the ship.

"Hey Mal I'm gonna head back to the ship if that's okay?" He turned to look at her and nodded.

"These are good folk here lit'l one. AIn't no one gonna bother ya." She smiled before giving him a one armed hug and taking off out the door. She smiled as the snowflakes hit her face and she picked up a few handfuls of snow in her gloved hands.

"Didn't I tell ya somethin' bout playin' in snow in that get up?" She turned and smiled at Jayne.

"Oh and to what do I owe the pleasure Jayne?" She rolled her eyes as he began to follow her back to the ship.

"Yer gonna freeze." He stated the fact and then remained quiet.

"Yea well you also said I looked like a boy in a dress and from the looks that I was getting from the men at the bar I'm gonna say you were wrong." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Did one of them touch you?!" He yelled.

"What?! NO!" then she turned to look at him. "Wait a minute. Why do you care?" She gave him a stern look.

"Why do you think I care Riv." He whispered. Her heart melted a little when he used her nickname. "Because I care about you." He crossed the distance between them and planted his mouth on hers. She sensed his urgency as he stuck his tongue in her mouth and massaged her own. She sighed into his mouth when it hit her. If they continued and she was eventually caught he could be killed or arrested or both. She shoved him back.

"No. Jayne I'm sorry, but no" She felt her face grow hot and her eyes were stinging as she pushed down her own sorrow to keep him safe. He stared at her for just a moment before his face grew red and he punched the wall of the building they were standing next to and then stormed off towards the bar she had just left.

It seemed like hours as she stood there letting her face freeze every time the wind blew. Her cheeks were red and wind burnt and her lips were chapped. She felt so alone and so hopeless. She wondered to herself if maybe she should just give up and marry Atherton. She felt someone pick her up bridal style and she looked up to see Mal's eyes staring back at her own.

"Hey lit'l darlin' how are ya?" He smiled sympathetically. She simply laid her head against his shoulder and let out a long sigh.

"Horrible daddy."

**Please read and review to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I want to thank everyone who is following, has favorited or has reviewed this story. I really appreciate it. **

**As always I do not own anything.**

River sat at the table in the mess quietly while Mal made coffee. She would have preferred hot chocolate, but chocolate was scarce and expensive out in the black. She smiled as her came across the room to set the mug down in front of her.

"Thank you Captain." She nodded her gratitude. He frowned at her before taking the seat across from her.

"What happened to daddy?" She was taken aback by the tone of his voice. He almost sounded upset.

"To be honest it's a little weird to call you that. I didn't even call Gabriel by the nickname father or daddy when I still thought he was." She wrinkled her nose at how awkward things had gotten.

"Well what did you call your… grandmother?" He was astonished at the fact she had never called anyone daddy or father before.

"I called her Reagan." She said flatly. "It seemed weird at the time to call them mother and father or mommy and daddy. Now I guess I know why." She smirked into her cup. They sat in silence for a few minutes before she finally asked the question that had been bothering her since she found out about who she really was. "Did you love my mother?" He choked on his coffee and soon the room grew silent again.

"How about I answer your questions if you answer just one of mine." He eyed her carefully.

"That seems fair." She smiled as she set her mug down on the table. "You answer that one first."

"Yes. More than you'll ever know." He smiled remembering just how much he loved her. His heart began to beat faster and his hands began to get clammy. When he opened his eyes to look at River he wanted to smack himself in his head for not seeing just how much the girl resembled her mother before. "Now it's time for my question." He narrowed his eyes at her causing her to grow concerned just what she had agreed to.

"Yes that was the agreement." She said flatly.

"Are you in love with Jayne?" His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. Before she could answer they both heard the cargo bay door open.

"Gorram girl git out here!" It was Jayne, there was no mistaking it. Mal rose first, but River motioned for him to sit back down. "River!" She watched the Captain's jaw tighten as Jayne continued his drunken yelling.

"I have no idea." She frowned standing up and walking towards the door. "But I may just kill him in a second so it might be a moot point." Mal gave a slight chuckle, but was still nervous about her dealing with an intoxicated Jayne. He knew he would never intentionally hurt her. He was far more concerned with River hurting him, and not just physically.

Jayne was wobbling hanging onto the door. He was yelling for her to come out of hiding. Calling her a little girl and a spoiled brat. She walked to the edge of the catwalk so he could see her. She raised an eyebrow at him, but let her lips remain in a hard pressed line. When he finally noticed her he stopped yelling.

"Don't look at me like that li'l girl." He said barely making his way to the stairs before he finally had to sit down. Not wanting to upset him further or exacerbate things she walked down to where he sat and took up a spot next to him.

"Like what?" She kept her face stoic and refused to show any emotion even though every inch of her wanted to touch him and her brain was screaming to kiss him.

"Like I was something you just stepped in." He spat. She wanted to say something to calm him down, but then she caught an odor coming off him. He already smelled of cheap whiskey and anything that could over come that smell had to be something either sprayed on him or something sprayed on someone who sat on him. "Like I'm someone who's beneath ya." He said quieter sounding and looking like a kicked puppy.

River didn't care anymore if she hurt him. That smell was enough to send her over the edge.

"You smell like cheap whiskey and a whore who wears cheap perfume." She frowned and when he caught sight of the fact that she was upset he ran with it.

"Hell don't rightly know what kinda perfume the woman was wearing." He smirked when her breath hitched. "Can't really say I was paying much attention to what she smelled like." He was caught off guard by the sudden stinging of his cheek.

"Damn you Jayne!" She stood up hoping he wouldn't see the tears that were threatening to start rolling down her cheeks. "You want to know why I looked at you like you're beneath me. It's because you are! You are the lowest piece of Rim trash I have ever met!" He wasn't prepared for that reaction. He was hoping that she would get jealous and kiss him, but instead she was furious. As she was just about to head towards her room she turned and looks at him on last time. "I hate you." It was a whisper just loud enough for him to hear, but it hurt as if she had screamed it at him and with that final word she was gone.

It seemed like an hour before he lifted his head to look around the cargo bay to see Kaylee and Zoe standing there staring at him with a mixture of shock and disgust on their faces. Wash didn't look as angry as they did, but he didn't look too pleased with Jayne either. Zoe cleared her throat as she prepared to yell at him, but it was Kaylee who broke the silence first.

"Were you dropped on your head as a child?"She crossed her arms across her chest.

"What she was the one who smacked me!" He looked at Wash. "Wash back me up here." Both women turned to glare at the pilot who raised his hands up as if to show he meant no harm.

"Can't help you here Jayne." He began to side step his way to the bridge while the women continued to glare at him "Did you guys hear that alarm on the bridge I think I'm gonna go check that out. Bye." He quickly darted out of the room. Jayne took the time try and quietly crawl up the stairs, but was stopped by the sound of a gun being cocked. He turned around to see Zoe had taken a step closer and had a gun pointed at him.

"Jayne Cobb you stop right there or I will shoot you." She said through her teeth.

"You're not gonna kill me Zoe." He said rolling his eyes.

"Oh Jayne I'm not gonna kill you, but I will shoot you in the knee cap. I hear that's pretty damn painful." Zoe's face remained unchanged, but Kaylee smirked a little. He sat right back down and Zoe released the hammer on her gun very slowly and put it away. "Now Jayne we're are gonna have a nice little chat."

"What in the hell is wrong wit' ya?" Kaylee said throwing her hands up in frustration.

"What do ya mean?" He asked. He knew what they meant, but if he played it off as being stupid maybe they wouldn't kick his ass.

"Jayne you are not that stupid." Zoe rolled her eyes. "Why the hell, if you were trying to be with River, did you pay for a whore?" She raised her eyebrow daring him to lie.

"I didn't get a whore. I sat there drinking and she came and sat down on my lap. I told her to get lost." He said.

"So ya didn' sleep with her?" Kaylee asked as her eyes began to get all moony as she thought over Jayne and River as a couple.

"No. I have my stupid moments, but even I'm smart enough to know that River and that whore don' even compare." He said placing his head in his hands.

"Aw well ain't that jus' the shiniest thing I ever heard." Kaylee grinned from ear to ear and Zoe simply scoffed.

"If you didn't sleep with the whore Jayne why did you tell River that you did?" Zoe said as she continued her glare which just unnerved him further.

"Hell I don' know." He said trying to wave the question off.

"You better think real hard about how you answer Jayne." Jayne watched as Zoe placed her hand back on her gun.

"Well I kissed her and then she pulled back and told me no." He sighed rubbing a hand through his hair.

"Did you say anything to her?" Zoe asked

"Only that I care about her." He shrugged.

"Aww you said that?" Jayne nodded at Kaylee. "That's so shiny."

"Kaylee focus." Zoe snapped. "If only we knew what she was so scared of."

"Probably the fine print in the marriage contract." They all turned to see Inara standing on the other side of the cargo bay.

"What about the marriage contract?" Zoe turned completely forgetting about Jayne who was just as engrossed in this new development.

"Well like she told us the contract can be broken by sleeping with another man." Inara said

"So you would think River would jump at the chance to start a relationship with Jayne. I mean at least sleep with him. She would get out of the contract and I mean she would get a relationship with someone who likes her." Kaylee stated the obvious, but began to think what she said was a bad idea when Inara began to shake her head.

"Yes, but I've read the contract and it's up to Atherton whether or not he wants to break it and it's up to him what happens to the young man that River takes up with." Inara waited and saw realization sink in for everyone. "Atherton Wing is many things, but compassionate and understanding are definitely not within his abilities."

"Wait so what can he do?" Kaylee said placing a hand over her mouth.

"If Jayne starts sleeping with River he can and most likely will be killed." Inara said sadly.

"So River is doing all this to protect Jayne?" Zoe couldn't believe how complicated things were getting because of one small girl.

"That's what I'm guessing." They all turned to look at Jayne who was speechless sitting on the stairs. Kaylee walked slowly over to the steps where Jayne sat and dropped down so she was crouching in front of him.

"Jayne she really does like you. She probably likes you very much and she is doing her best to keep you safe. To keep all of us safe." She placed a hand on his knee.

"Jayne I think it would be best if you stopped this thing with River." Zoe was quiet, but firm leading him to believe it wasn't a request. It was an order.

"Why?" He couldn't believe Zoe was asking this of him. It would be like someone asking her to stay away from Mal or Wash it just couldn't be done.

"Jayne if she gets caught or found do you think Atherton will just let it go if she's no longer a virgin? If she's been with another man?" Zoe raised an eyebrow when she asked the question and he knew where this was going.

"Jayne he will beat her something fierce. She's going to face not only a loveless marriage, but an unusually cruel husband." Inara smiled weakly at him. "To protect her Jayne you have to stay away from her. Do you understand?"

"I'm not a ruttin idiot. I get it!" He stormed off and kicked the wall as he walked out of sight.

"Well that went well." Zoe sighed rubbing her hand across her forehead.

"It's kinda romantic ain't it?" Inara and Zoe turned to give Kaylee as skeptical glance. "You know like Romeo and Juliet. Two lovers who can't be together, but they still get married and what not."

"Kaylee did you finish reading Romeo and Juliet?" Inara said almost flabbergasted by what Kaylee had said

"Well no… I only know the basics." Kaylee shrugged. "Why? What happens?"

"They kill themselves Kaylee." Kaylee threw her hands over her mouth at Zoe's words.

"Oh they're nothin' like that then." Kaylee brushed it off as her normal cheeriness took back over.

"You think either one of them is going to be able to stay away from the other?" Inara asked skeptically

"Not a chance." Zoe sighed walking away to go find her husband.

River sat at the table sketching Kaylee as she worked on cleaning an engine part she was saving for later. Zoe and Wash sat at the table with her. Zoe had made soup and Wash was busy devouring it. Zoe on the other hand was watching River with great interest. River was so invested in her work she didn't hear Mal and Jayne walk into the room. When River was finished she stood up and crossed the room to hand Kaylee her picture.

"What's this?" She scrutinized the picture causing River to feel self conscious. "Oh River this is fantastic. You have a gift."

"Well I don't know if it's that great, but thank you." River blushed. "I drew it for you."

"Well Thank You River." She looked at the picture another time before handing it to Zoe. Zoe gazed over the picture and took in the detail of the picture. River had drawn everything and the shading was perfect. It was perfect; she had even drawn the grease marks on her face.

"River you have real talent." River blushed repeatedly as her picture was passed around the room.

"Well where is my picture?" Wash teased crossing his arms across his chest as if he were frowning.

"Oh… well… I drew that picture for Kaylee because it's her birthday tomorrow and I figured she would like this better." River smiled weakly. "But I have drawn pictures of everyone at some point."

"Well let's see 'em" Kaylee grinned clapping her hands together.

She pulled out the pictures dutifully handing them first to Mal who rifled through until he found the one of him. He was obviously arguing with someone, but his anger did no meet his eyes. He was pointing a finger at someone and it didn't take long to realize just who he was arguing with in the sketch.

Wash received his next her was sitting in the pilots chair playing with his dinosaurs. His grin was evident.

"Out of all the pictures I like Wash's the best." River smiled

"Why his?" Mal took offence.

"Because in that moment I caught him playing with toys it didn't matter that he was a grown man playing like a child he was doing something he loved and it was obvious." River shrugged as she began a new sketch.

Zoe's was a mirror image of the woman herself. Standing there in her trademark clothing with the same scowl on her face that had scared many a men away. Her arms were crossed across her chest and her eyes were set in a cold dead glare.

"Well that picture is a might unsettlin'" Mal laughed.

"Not at all." River didn't have to look up to know what picture he was talking about. "That is Zoe at her most beautiful. At her strongest, but also at her most beautiful." Zoe nodded her thank you to the young girl, but was not sure if she saw it.

Inara took her picture and smiled. She was sitting there her hair down; her face calm, but something in her eyes gave away her affection. She had very little makeup on and she was unsure of where the young girl had seen her like this.

"Where have you seen me look like this River?" Inara asked quietly.

"When Mal is looking at you, talking to you, talking at you and arguing with you. It is the same face you always have when he is around." River smiled slightly and returned to her current sketch.

Book thourghly enjoyed his picture. It was him simply sitting at the table reading his bible as he lost himself to thought.

"Thank you dear." He smiled.

"Your welcome shepherd." She didn't bother to look up from the table. She was nervous of the next picture.

Everyone turned to look at Jayne who had not spoken to River since the day before. He simply stood there by the door staring at the image. He finally looked up when he realized just how quite everyone had become. Inara's breath hitched in her throat. He threw the picture on the table and walked over to where River sat.

"You and I need to have a little chat!" He quickly jerked her up by the arm and dragged her out of the room. Mal made a move to stop him, but stopped when he felt Inara's hand on his arm.

"Let them go, sir." Zoe said as she stared at the image Jayne had thrown down.

"He should man handle her like that." He was almost yelling. "Why would you stop me?" He turned to Inara whose hand remained on his arm.

"Look at the picture Zoe has." Mal walked over and yanked the picture away from Zoe and frowned.

"It's just a picture of Jayne smiling." He said confused as to why that meant.

"Jayne doesn't smile Captain. Not like that at least." Inara says quietly.

"Jayne smiles all the time!" Mal yells at her. He had seen him smile before.

"No Jayne smiles when he thinks something funny, but that's not the same smile. That smile. That smile that she drew is a happy smile. Completely different from his smile when he's cracking jokes or being lewd." Inara ripped the paper out of Mal's hand and shoved it in his face.

"Well who cares?" Mal pushed her hand back. "She could have drawn him anyway she saw fit. Don't mean that he smiled for her."

"Yes it does Cap'in" Kaylee was grinning which was never good. "She only drew us how she saw us. You arguing, Inara listening to you, Zoe working, Wash playing, I was cleaning, Shepherd was reading." She waited to see if he would continue, but he remained stubborn "Which means she saw Jayne smile just like that."

"Ai ya!" he yelled throwing his hands up in defeat and then throws himself into the chair next to him.

Jayne almost tossed her into her room. He was fuming and she knew just by looking at him. She sat down on the bed carefully waiting for the screaming to start, waiting for the name calling and the pointing of fingers, but none of it happened. He simply stared at her breathing carefully.

"Why would you draw me like that if you didn't care?" He asked. It's quiet. She could barely hear him above the whir of the engine.

"I drew you just as I saw you. No different than anyone else." She said. _Gorammit River what the hell were you thinking showing him that picture. _

"No mine's different and you know it" He continued to look at the ground.

"No it's not." _ Think River think! You have to hurt him it's the only way. _

"Do you love me?" He asked finally looking at her. His eyes threw her off for just a moment. The hurt, the love, the compassion. She wanted nothing more than to say yes. To throw herself into his arms and never let him leave the room, but the minute he did that he was a dead man. If she gets caught and they find out she slept with him Atherton would kill him. She didn't even care about what would happen to her because once he was killed nothing would matter.

"How could I love a Rim rat like you?" She chokes over the words. It leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. She sees the hurt sink into his features and his breath begins to quicken. "I was just having some fun. I just wanted to have some fun and you went and got yourself attached to me." She feels the vomit begin to rise in her throat. "All of you Rim boys are the same. First pretty little piece of trim walks by and you fall all over yourself to get it." He doesn't say anything. He doesn't punch or kick or scream he simply nods to her and leaves the room. After he finally leaves she vomits all over the floor. She begins to sob uncontroablly and she does her best to keep it quiet because if he hears her everything is ruined and he'll know she lied. She can't le that happen. She can't let him get hurt because she loves him.

**Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please read and review. Your reviews give me the push to keep going also they're really addicting so please support my review habit. : )**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yet again I want to thank everyone who has been following this story or had reviewed. I really appreciate it. As always I do not own anything and no profit was made from this.**

It had been two months since the argument between River and Jayne. If she was honest with herself, truly honest, she would have said it was the worst two months of her life. It wasn't a large ship and they ran into each other at least once a day. They would mutter a passing hi and continue to where ever they were going in the first place. If they were ever in the same room neither would acknowledge the other's existence. She felt like every time he was in front of her she was being sucker punched in the stomach and it was almost impossible for her to pay attention to her actions. To avoid these unfortunate circumstances she tried to keep busy. Mal would not allow her on jobs; he said that with her and Jayne not being on good terms caused distractions, so she learned about other jobs on the boat. Wash was teaching her how to fly Serenity, Kaylee showed her how to help with the engine; even Inara taught her some lessons about being a companion.

She had decided that the best way to kill time on the ship, when she wasn't sketching or reading, was to cook. Everyone on the ship loved her cooking. They said she could make warm protein mash taste like a four course turkey dinner. She smiled at her new job and was thrilled to help in any way she could. She hated to feel useless. Things were going as well as possible until two days ago Jayne had been hurt on the job, shot in the calf, and that meant he spent almost all his down time in the mess. He said it was easy access to the food, but she noticed how he watched her while she worked and it made her uncomfortable. Mal and Zoe were on a job and since Jayne was unable to go they had taken Wash, Kaylee was getting parts for Serenity, Inara had a client, and Book was meeting up with a few friends which meant that they were alone on the boat. She had been able to go to the market and spend her remaining credits on real food for the crew. She felt like it was the least she could do to say thank you for putting up with her. She was cutting up carrots; she had decided to make home made chicken noodle soup, when she became momentarily distracted by Jayne who was sitting in the corner. The knife slipped and she sliced the side of her finger.

"Made!" She yelled causing Jayne to jump and stare at her. It was bleeding horribly and the only thing she could think to do was hold it and continue to curse. She hadn't realized Jayne had quickly crossed the room and was standing behind her.

"What the hell happened?" He said swiping the clean towel she had sitting out to dry her hands and grabbing her arm to wrap up the finger. His hand seemed to give off heat as he grabbed her. She stopped cussing and looked up into his eyes, which were filled with worry.

"I was cutting up the carrots when the knife slipped and I sliced my finger." She said quietly. She hoped she sounded like that because it hurt, but she knew it was because he was so close.

"Well let's take a look." He unwrapped her finger and then sighed. "You're gonna need stitches."

"I can't stitch that. It's my dominant hand!" She cursed her stupidity. Why hadn't she been paying attention?

"Well I've had to stitch a few of my own wounds before a certain miss smarty pants came on board." He paused to smirk at her.

"Why Mr. Cobb are you teasing me?" She laughed slightly. It was amazing how they fell quickly back into old habits.

"Might be." He laughed. "If you don't mind I think we'll go down to the infirmary and fix you up." She nodded silently and walked in front of him all the way there.

She sat and waited while Jayne took the necessary precautions, washing his own hands, cleaning her wound and numbing it. She winced a few times as she felt the tugging sensation of the needle, but it was over quickly.

"Did I hear ya say carrots?" He said trying to fill the awkward silence.

"Yea it was suppose to be a surprise." She sighed. "I used the last of my credits to buy real food and I was making home made chicken noodle soup as a thank you to the crew for putting up with me."

"Putting up with you?" He raised an eyebrow. "Everyone loves you here. You're not a burden or nuthin'"

"Sometimes I feel like one." She looked down at her feet. He grabbed her chin between his forefinger and thumb

"You're not!" he stared into her eyes and River couldn't break the gaze. "And don't you never think that again" They remained like that for what seemed like an eternity before she finally spoke.

"I am so sorry Jayne." She said as he dropped her jaw and began to clean up the mess. "I am so sorry for what I did and what I said."

"What do you want me to say River?" He didn't turn around to look at her, but continued to scrub down the infirmary. "That's everything is okay no cause yer sorry."

"No." She pushed her tears back down. "I just want my friend back nothing more. It was wrong to lead you on. It was so stimulating to have someone want me and…." He was staring at her with a mix of anger and lust. "It was wrong and I am so sorry."

"So you don't want me?" He almost sounded like he was begging and it broke River's heart.

"No." Lie. "I just want to be friends" another lie.

"I can handle that if you can." His smile caused River's heart to stop beating for a moment and she wasn't even sure if she disliked the feeling. She nodded and then hopped off the infirmary bed.

"I'm going to finish cooking. It should be done shortly before the rest return if you want to be the first to try it and have an extra bowl." She smiled at him glad that they were speaking again.

"Hell yea!" He said following her enthusiastically.

Dinner was very animated as everyone spoke of their day. Inara's client was a senator, Books friends asked him to help a community called Haven; he was thinking about it, Kaylee got more parts than she bargained for and Mal, Zoe and Wash weren't shot at so it was a good day. When the crew quieted down River spotted her chance to tell the crew of her plans.

"I want to stay on Serenity." She said loudly.

"I didn't figure you would want to leave." Mal shrugged. "You're welcome here as long as you want."

"Forever?" She asked hopefully. Jayne wouldn't admit to it, but he was hoping for forever too.

"Yes lit'l one forever." Mal said taking another bite of his food.

"Good I was hoping to learn something about the family business." She gave him a sly smile.

"Brat." Mal laughed. "Makes sense though. Nest job you'll come with us to the meeting place. Just sit back and watch from a distance. Sound good?" She nodded enthusiastically and returned to her meal.

A week later River got her wish. Mal, Zoe and Jayne were negotiating a deal in some seedy bar. River was sitting at the bar eavesdropping on the conversation. Picking up bits and pieces of how to get the best deal. From Mal's tone she figured that the negotiations weren't going well. She was doing her best to listen, but the two drunks next to her were beginning to discuss her group as well and she couldn't help but listen.

"I'm telling you. They're smugglers." The first man said. He was the younger of the two. In a lot of ways he reminded her of an older Jayne, just not as good looking. He hand dark hair that was cut short, big muscled arms, but his smile lacked appeal due to that fact that he was missing quite a few teeth.

"Well then we'll wait until they're done drinking and jump 'em when they leave. They'll be paid by then and we'll get they're money." This man was older with graying hair and a big pot belly. He smelled of cheap beer and sweat.

"Well while we wait I'm gonna make friend with that pretty little lady next to ya." The younger man said. She smiled as he approached and began to think of her plan quickly.

Mal put his hand to his face as he tried his best not to lose his temper. They were doing their best with negotiations, but things were falling apart fast. Jayne, who was also growing angry, took another shot.

"Damn!" they both looked up at the slimy man across from them. He was asking them to transport some medical supplies to a planet that desperately needed them, but he wasn't paying much. The pay would barely cover the gas to get there; to Mal it just wasn't doable. "Hmm well never mind. Seems the man is movin' on. I was hoping that sweet lit'l thing at the bar would let me buy her a drink later." Both Mal and Jayne stiffened at the thought of just who was sitting at the bar. Zoe simply laughed she had seen what the girl is capable of doing. As far as she was concerned that girl could walk around in a port by herself and be perfectly safe, but then again she wasn't her father nor was she in love with her.

"Who?" Mal sputtered.

"That lit'l slip of a girl at the bar." He pointed to River. "Look at them legs. Bet she could wrap those around ya all night. Right Jayne?"

"Huh?" Jayne was awakened from his stupor when the man laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.

"You've been makin' eyes at the girl all night. I's figurin' I bes' make my move for a young buck like yerself came in a swooped her up." Jayne took another shot. "You know or you cap'in"

"Don't think that will be happening." Mal said making a face that Zoe knew spelled trouble

"An' whys that Cap'in?" The man smiled at him

"Because that young lady at the bar would be my daughter." The man's face dropped as he sputtered his apologies.

"Why ya let her off the ship then?" The man asked perplexed. "I had me a daughter look like that I wouldn't be lettin' her go anywhere unaccompanied."

"Well I figured she's a big girl and she can handle herself. I don't think we will be able to do business though." Mal stood to walk away.

"Well I 'preciate the time Cap'in I'll send ya a wave if I hear of anything else." Jayne stood up quickly and stumbled a little. He was unaware of just how much he had drank, but he knew that it was too much in that moment. When Mal turned to say something to River he saw that River was gone. He shrugged figuring she went back to the ship. As he half led half carried Jayne back to the ship he was stopped by a fat old man in front of him holding a gun.

"What' this about now?" Zoe said raising her hands up.

"Well way we figured it. We was gonna rob you and take yer money." They turned to see the man who had been hitting on River Earlier standing behind them holding another gun. "But first I'm gonna let this here lit'l lady shoot one of ya." They were all stunned into silence when River walked out taking a gun from the man's holster and pointing it at Mal. She gave him a knowing look and motioned with the gun that he was to remain quiet. "So lit'l lady which one ya want to shoot?"

"The Captain." She smiled at the man and hopped up on the low hanging roof behind him.

"Yer not gonna get a good shot off from up there." He smirked at her causing her stomach to turn just a bit.

"I'll take my chances." He turned back around seeming to be okay with her answer. She carefully snaked her left foot under his chin. Placing the top of her toes against his right cheek and she then place the arch of her foot on the top left side of his head.

"what are ya doin' up there girly." He laughed.

"Teasing." She said seductively. What happened next to less than a minute as she used her feet to quickly snap his neck while shooting his partner in the head. Mal and Zoe both stood there with their mouths hanging open. Jayne who was barely conscious threw up and then promptly passed out. She rolled her eyes and then hopped down and smiled at the two remaining crew. "Well let's get him back to the ship."

"Wait a minute River. You want to explain to me what the hell just happened?" Mal was yelling

"I will as soon as we get drunky here back to the ship and get him cleaned up. He stinks." She wrinkled her nose. Mal not knowing what else to do or say simply shrugged and picked Jayne up to follow her.

No one had offered to help River clean Jayne up. She didn't blame them. The smell of vomit was not a pleasant one, but leaving him to sit in dirty clothes all night was not a nice thing to do. She removed his shirt and laughed when he slumped back down onto his bunk with a loud thump. He didn't even move. She tossed the shirt onto the floor and grabbed the wet towel next to her. She made quick work of wiping off his face. As she wiped his chest and stomach off though he quickly woke up and grabbed her hand in surprise. She gave a loud squeak of surprise and then smiled at him.

"Well hello my inebriated friend." She giggled.

"What's going on?" His voice was scratchy and low. It sent a chill up her spine.

"You threw up and no one else was nice enough to clean you off so being the wonderful person that I am I offered." She said giving him a once over to make sure she had removed all offending traces of vomit.

"You couldn't just say 'ya threw up and I am cleanin ya off'?" He said rubbing the side of his face that had hit the ground.

"Nope." She laughed. She then noticed what appeared to be a vomit stain on his pants. She went to go wipe it away, but then paused and thought about where the stain was. "Alright don't freak out, but you have puke on your pants and it's right in your…. Your…. Your area and I'm just gonna clean it off." As she moves off the bed and bends over to get it, but his hands stop her.

"No that's sauce from a burger earlier." He says. He then takes in the way she's standing and he leers at her. "Has anyone told you that you have great legs." He runs his hand up the back of her thigh.

"Alright." She smiles sweetly as she removes his hand from her body and takes a step back. "On that note I'm gonna leave." She then grabs his shirt off the floor.

"Where ya goin' with my shirt?" he hollers at her.

"I am going to throw it away." She yells back down "I just don't think I can save it."

"Awww. But that's my favorite shirt!" He complains.

"Good night Jayne." She laughs to herself as she shuts his hatch. As she throws his shirt into a bag and then quickly ties it shut. She turns to go throw it in the trash, but screams when she turns to see Mal standing behind her.

"You scared me half to death!" She places her hand over her heart.

"Well." He narrows his eyes "I guess that makes us even."

"I think you owe me a thank you. They were going to kill you." She says quickly throwing Jayne's shirt into the garbage shoot.

"I just don't like you putting yerself in danger like that River." He sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well I didn't have much choice." She frowned.

"How did you do that?" He finally asked the question that had been bothering him all night.

"Well I simply came up with the best plan-" She froze when she realized what he was asking "Oh that."

"Yes that!" He yelled "You killed two men like it was nothing!"

"Well I guess Simon told you about how I learn things." She waited for his response. When he didn't get one she grew frustrated and elaborated. "I need only once to know how to do it expertly." He then nodded. "Well I've seen someone fire a gun before and I saw the foot thing in a movie. Easily explained."

"But why?" He asked

"They were going to kill my family. My friends. I couldn't allow that." She frowned. He thought for a moment, considering all his options before telling her what he decided

"Alright lit'l one. You can start going on jobs with us." She squealed with excitement and she began to jump up and down. "Don't make me regret this River!" He yelled at her back as she disappeared down the hall to her room. Things were going to get interesting once Simon found out that she was going to be committing crime. He was just hoping that when he did that he would still be on Osiris and that they would be safely in the black.

**Please read and review! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Your reviews let me know you're still reading also the more you review the faster I update.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the new chapter. I know it's longer than the other's just bare with me. It's basically just the Train job with a few tweaks and a little Rayne twist. I do not own anything and no profit was made from this.**

The bar was poorly lit in the corner they were sitting in. A belly dancer moved about the room slowly looking every which way for tips. Mal smirked to himself when they stopped in this bar earlier that morning. He sat there quietly with Zoe and Jayne, who was already drunk, playing Chinese checkers.

"Your move." Jayne smirked taking another drink of his beer.

Mal moved the pieces jumping several of Zoe's in the process. She looked at him with a hint of amusement.

"That's a bold move." She laughed quietly to herself.

"I live on the edge." He joked finishing off the last of his drink.

Zoe smirks before picking up her piece and jumping several of Mal's pieces as she makes it to the other side of the board.

"Nice work dumbass." Jayne scoffs as he leans back into his chair.

"I'd given some thought to movin' off the edge, not an ideal location, thinkin' a place in the middle." Mal lies through his teeth; pretending as if he planned it.

"Toast! Toast!" He hears someone behind him yelling. He laughs to himself when no one pays him a bit of attention and continues about their business. "QUIET! SHUT UP!" The bar grows quiet and Mal turns to see a man wobbling next to the bar. He is tall, bald and looks as if he hasn't showered in a week. "I'm, uh, I got words… I'm sayin' this is an a'spicious day." He has his drink raised and he's sloshing it around everywhere. Zoe looks at him as if to say just let it go, but he simply shrugs and returns to listening. "We all know what day it is."

"Suspicious… what day is it?" Jayne leans across the table towards Mal and Mal simply waves him off.

"A glorious day, for all the proud members of the allied planets. Unification day!" The man throws his fist in the air with a proud smirk.

Mal sighs and closes his eyes. He looks to Zoe who looks sit there stoically and then returns his attention to the man at the bar.

"The end of the scumbag independents, the dawn of a new galaxy!" Mal stands up continuing to glare at the man.

"Captain?" Zoe asks with a worried tone.

"Just feel the need for another drink." He begins to walk towards the bar as Zoe keeps a watchful eye on him.

"What month is it?" Jayne asks himself and Zoe rolls her eyes.

Mal walked up to the bar slowly standing next to the smelly drunkard making proclamations. He leans over the bar to get the bartenders attention and begins to order his drink.

"Ching zie lie ee bay Ng-Ka-Pei?" He gives the bartender the order and waits patiently as the man looks at him suspiciously.

"Hey you gonna drink to the Alliance wi' me?" Mal almost gags at the smell of him. "Thirteen years ago today the Alliance sent the browncoats running, pissing their pants." The man then finally get a good look at what Mal is wearing. He narrows his eyes at his jacket and scoffs. "Y'know your coat is kinda a brownish color."

"It was on sale." Mal turns and downs his drink

"You didn't toast? Y'know, I'm thinkin' you're one of them independents." The man sneers at him.

"And I'm thinkin' you weren't burdened with an over abundance of schooling. So why don't we just ignore each other, till we go away?" He turns back around and faces the bar.

"The Independents were a bunch of cowardly inbred pisspots. Should have been killed off of every world spinnin'."He smirks at his insult hoping it would get under Mal's skin.

"Say that to my face." He turns from the bar with a cold glare in his eyes.

"I said, You're a coward and a pisspot. Now what are you gonna do about it?" The man smirks at the fact that he had succeeded at upsetting him.

"Nothin'." Mal smirks at the man. His once hard edged voice has a new light happy air to it. "I just wanted you to ace me so she could get behind you."

He turns around slowly and is met with the ice cold glare of Zoe. She doesn't say anything, but simply rears back her fist and punches the man in the face. Mal smirks as he drops to the ground. "Drunks are so cute." His smile falters as he hears the sound of chairs scraping the floor. They both turn to see the entire bar standing up and glaring at them.

"Oh juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan." Mal says quietly to Zoe as she turns around.

"Jayne…" She calls back over her shoulder.

"Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though." He smiles and takes a drink while keeping one foot on the table. Mal rolls his eyes and turns back to the rest of the bar.

"Fine. Let's do this." He says getting into a ready stance. It doesn't take long for a few men to throw him out the force field window. He lands hard and it nearly knocks the wind out of him. He takes a deep breath and brings his communicator to his mouth. "Wash, we've got some local color happening. Your grand entrance would not go amiss." Just as he finishes his call he sees Zoe pushing two men out the front door. She kicks one towards Mal and then throws the other into one of the stone pillars in the front of the bar.

Mal Lands a solid punch knocking the man to the ground, but he quickly rebounds and get a solid shot in on Mal as well. He looks over to Zoe who is holding her own against a man several inches larger than herself. He gets in a few more punches before he looks around and realizes Jayne still isn't fighting with them.

"Is Jayne even awake?" He yells to Zoe who pays him no mind as she throws some sand in a man's face before knocking him to the ground. Mal turns when he hears a scuffle at the bar's front door and turns to see Jayne pushing two men out the front door with a bar stool while another one is following him trying to throw punches. He sends an elbow back into the mans face and then knocks the other two men to the ground. There a few more punches thrown before the original man that Zoe punched walks out a followed by the rest of the men from the bar.

"Woah, woah… haha." Mal looks down the steep cliff and turns back to the group. He turns to see the man level a pistol at his head and then the rest of his lackeys do the same.

"Hey, them ain't kosherized rules." Jayne yells glaring at the man.

"There's just an acre of you fellas." He turns to Zoe. "This is why we lost, you know. Superior numbers." He smirks at Zoe.

"Thanks for the re-enactment, sir." She groans out and turns when she hears the guns in front of them cocking.

"I'm thinkin' somebody needs to put you down, dog. What do you think?" He smirks thinking he's won.

"I'm thinkin' we'll rise again." He smiles as Serenity rises up over the cliff sending dust everywhere.

"EVERYMAN THERE GO BACK INSIDE, OR WE WILL BLOW A NEW CRATER IN THIS LITTLE MOON." Mal smirks at Wash's words over the speaker. The men give them one last glare before turning around and slowly walking back into the bar. Just inside the ramp Jayne starts laughing.

"Damn Yokels can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it." He smirks over to Zoe and Mal who smile back at their little inside joke. And step just inside the cargo doors. "blow a new crater in this moon." Jayne laughs as he makes his way up to the mess where he knows River is waiting for him. Mal and Zoe quickly follow. Everyone is gathered around in the mess looking at them with grins on their faces.

"My thanks Wash, nice save as always." He smiles at the pilot before his eyes trail over to River and Jayne. She's leaning back in the little common space with her feet up on Jayne's lap. He has a hand on her thigh. He decides to keep his mouth shut. He knows that if River didn't like it she would and very well could do something about it.

"A pleasure." Wash smirks and takes a bow.

"So was there a terrible brawl?" Kaylee asks excitedly.

"oddly enough there was." Zoe raises an eyebrow as she turns to look at Mal. Wash turns to laugh at Mal

"Are you getting my wife into trouble?" He laughs wrapping his arms around Zoe's mid section. Jayne and River exchange an amused glance.

"Wha? I didn't start it. Just wanted a quiet drink." Mal hollered to no one in particular. Jayne and River smirked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Funny sir, how you always seemed to find yourself in an Alliance-friendly bar come U-day, looking for a quiet drink." She dead paned sitting down at the table.

"See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia, a paranoid and crotchety. Makes it hard" he smirked to show everyone he was joking. Kaylee laughs as Jayne and River roll their eyes one more time.

"Would you two stop that! It's creepy."

"Did we at least make contact?" Wash asked after clearing his throat to get Mal's attention. Mal pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and smiled triumphantly.

"Ladies and menfolk, we have ourselves a job." Zoe grabs it and smirks as she reads over the details. "take us out of the world, Wash, got some crime to be done." River looked up excitedly as she crossed the floor towards Mal.

"So does this job entail me following along?" She gave him her best sad little girl smile and Mal chuckled.

"Well I'm not sure on the specifics of the job, but I suppose you can come to the meeting place. Listen to the details on how to barter." He smiled sweetly.

"Learn the family business." She sing songed and then she ran from the room. Jayne stood up to follow her and was stopped by Mal.

"She's got a lot on her plate Jayne, don't make it any worse." He frowned.

"We're just friends Mal. Calm down." He laughed and then followed her out of the room.

"Did you believe any of that?" Mal asked Zoe.

"Sir?" She turned away from Wash to face Mal.

"About Jayne and River being just friends?" He asked a little irritated that she wasn't listening.

"No." She shrugged and then grabbed Wash's hand to lead him away. "But I don't figure it's any of our business. She's an adult."

Kaylee always liked sitting with Inara in her room. It smelled wonderful and she always felt so glamorous while Inara played with her hair. So she tried to spend most of her time in there when she wasn't working on the engine or playing a game with River. So after the Captain's meeting about the job she wandered into the room and asked if Inara would put her hair up. They sat in silence for a few moments before Inara asked Kaylee a question.

"Have you noticed Jayne and River lately?" She said running the brush through Kaylee's hair one more time.

"What you mean the non-stop flirting? Or the fact that they both like to roll their eyes at the captain?" Kaylee giggled and handed Inara a hair tie.

"I was talking about the flirting, but tell me more about undermining the Captain." She smiled.

"Oh anytime the Captain does or says something... well Captainy… they look at each other and roll their eyes." Inara laughed.

"So Have you ever had to service a really hideous client? With boils and the like?" Kaylee shivered at the thought of sleeping with someone she didn't think was good looking.

"A companion chooses her own clients, that's Guild law. But physical appearance doesn't matter so terribly. You look for a compatibility of spirit. There's an energy about a person that's difficult to hide, you try to feel that-" She was cut off when Mal walked in to the room and interrupts her.

"And then you try to feel the energy of their credit account. It has sort of an aura." He laughed at his own joke.

"What did I say about barging into my shuttle?" She huffed.

"That it was manly and impulsive." He raised an eyebrow at her while looking at her wall coverings.

"Yes, precisely. Only the exact phrase I used was "don't"." She shot him a hate filled glare.

"Well, you're holding my mechanic in thrall. And Kaylee, What the hell's goin' on in the engine room? Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?" He turned his attention to the young mechanic.

"I had to rewire the grav thrust because somebody won't replace that crappy compression coil." She glared back at him.

"Well get the place squared away. It's dangerous in there, and I ain't paying you to get your hair played at." He watches with amusement as Kaylee gets up and storms out.

"Kuh ooh duh lao bao jurn" Kaylee calls over her shoulder.

"We work before we play!" He yelled back satisfied that she didn't say anything back. "We got a job." He said

"Congratulations. This job wouldn't e on a decently civilized planet where I could screen some respectable clients perhaps?" She began to clean up her tea things.

"Respectable clients, it seems a contradiction." He says flatly.

"Don't start." She shoots him a glare.

"There's umm… we haven't gotten a location yet. We'll be landing on the Skyplex in a bit. Run by a fellow Niska." He sits down on her chair.

"Never heard of him." She shrugs.

"Well I have. While we're there, you'll stay confined to the ship." His tone tells her she shouldn't argue, but something about Mal just sets her off.

"Afraid to be seen with a companion?" She says flatly.

"Not this man has a very unlovely rep. I'm not sure you'd be safe." He says rubbing the back of his neck.

"oh, but River would?" She raises an eyebrow at him.

"Listen we've all seen how River can handle herself and if for some reason she needed help you really think that Jayne or I would let anything happen to her?" She shook her head. "Besides as River would say she's gotta learn the family business sometime." He turned to walk out the door, but paused just before he left. "You think you have time to do my hair?" he smirked at Inara.

"Out." She pointed and then turned around.

River and Jayne laughed as they heard Inara yell at Mal to get out of her shuttle. Mal smiled at the two and continued on his way towards the bridge. River smirked at Jayne before he began another lifting set. She sat next to him diligently reading a physics a book. When he sat up in between sets and cleared his throat River knew he had something on his mind.

"yes Jayne?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"I don't think you should go into Niska's skyplex." He said looking at the ground.

"I think I'll be fine Jayne. I can handle myself." She rolled her eyes and continued her reading.

"Please Riv. I just… I don't think it's safe." He begged.

"Calm down Jayne. I'll be fine." She didn't even look up from her book as she waved off his concerns. He dropped the subject, but told himself he would stick close to her.

The skyplex was enormous and it put River off a little that they had to walk for so long to get to Niska's office. Jayne was nervous for a completely different reason, All the men were staring and River and Zoe as f they had never seen a woman before; which made for a scary situation. One of his henchmen led them to a door and River grabbed Jayne's hand when they saw the very large man that opened it. He smirked down at her and squeezed her hand to let her know everything was okay. The man glared at them and refused to move until they heard a voice call out from behind him.

"He's fine. Crow, they can come in." The man sneered at all of them as they walked passed. River stood silently by Jayne as they all came face to face with an old man. "And Malcolm Reynolds is which?" He asked looking between the two men.

"I'm captain Reynolds." Mal stepped forward. "This is my first mate Zoe, this is Jayne." River knew why he left her out, but it probably drew more attention to her.

"And who is this lovely little creature hanging onto … Jayne is it?" He smiled at her, but the smile made River a little more nervous. She did her best to put on a brave front, but remained glued to Jayne's hand.

"That is my daughter River." He said non chalantly.

"Very nice. I am Adelai Niska. You have seen Crow. He likes to stand at the door and say Boo!" Niska laughed a little.

"we got word you might have a job for us." Mal tried to break the tension by getting straight to business.

'Yes! Yes, an exciting job. A train has, eh, something I need. You have worked a train before?" He looked to Ma for an answer, but River was more concerned with why he wouldn't tell them what they were suppose to steal.

"We did a few." Mal said calmly.

"Are you going to ask me what it is I need?" he was almost tickled by the lack of question that Mal and the rest of the group didn't ask.

"As a rule." Mal raised an eyebrow "no."

"Yes. Good! You have a reputation! Malcolm Reynolds gets it done is the talk." Niska said excitedly.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Mal was concerned with how long this was taking.

"You know what is reputation? Is people talking . Is gossip. I also have reputation." He flashed a grin at River. "And not so pleasant I think you know." He turned to look at Mal. "Crow?" The large man swings open the door behind Niska to reveal a man hanging by his feet. He had obviously been tortured badly before his heart had finally stopped breathing. River squeezed Jayne's hand tighter.

"Now for you, my reputation is not from gossip. You see this man. Eh, he does not do the job. I show what I do him, and now reputation for you is fact, is solid. You do the train job for me, then you are solid. No more gossip." He said staring Mal down.

"Right." Mal nodded showing he understood. River stared at the hanging body and then turned to look at Niska. She didn't see how someone could do something so horrible.

"Oooh. You do not like I kill this man." He gives River a pouty face.

"oh, no. I'm sure he was a… very bad… person." She turns away and stands next to Jayne.

"My wife's' nephew. At dinner, I'm getting earful. There is no way out of that." He smiles at River. "So, oh! The train job. Come here!" He waves Mal over to a display that has the train set up on it.

"Here, in fifth car, two boxes. Alliance goods. You don't mind taking from Alliance I think. From your Reputation?" Mal shrugs and Niska continues. "You get on train at Hancock, headed for Paradiso. You take boxes off, before you reach Paradiso, and deliver to Crow here." He points to another spot on the display to show the rendezvous point. "Half money now, Crow give you other half money at rendezvous point. Anything goes wrong, then, your reputation, only gossip, and things between us, not so solid. Yes?" He then turns to smirk at River and she feels a chill run through her. She finally breaths a sigh of relief when she finally stepped foot onto Serenity.

"I knew you shouldn't have come" Jayne slams his hand against the wall when they walk back in.

" I have to side with Jayne on this Little one." Zoe said sadly.

"I have no clue what you're talking about. It went fine. We do the job we get paid that's it." Mal said rolling his eyes. "She's fine." River smirks at Jayne before following Mal out of the room.

"You think he has any idea?" Jayne asks astonished at the Captain's stupidity

"That if this goes wrong Niska will be going after River and not Mal?" Zoe raised an eyebrow.

"Yea." Jayne kicks his weight bench

"I don't know, but I'm thinking that I might just enlighten him." Zoe said storming out of the cargo bay towards the bridge. She saw Mal talking over the job with Wash, River was no where to be seen. She heard Jayne storm in behind her.

"Captain, we need to have a talk." Zoe says stoically.

"About how I just put River in a whole heap of danger. I know, but do you really think River needs that hanging over her head." He says quietly. He turns his attention to Jayne. "If something goes wrong and Zoe and I get pinched I expect you to take care of her Jayne." Mal says with a straight face. Jayne simply nods and walks out of the room, still upset.

Mal and Zoe boarded the train with no problems. As far as anyone knew they were just a married couple on their way to go find work in Paradiso.

"How long till we hit Paradiso?" Mal whispered leaning over the seat towards Zoe.

"another twenty minutes. We should be in the foothills in five." She nods

"Best get to work." He says as they both stand up

"He's a psycho you know. NIska." She does her best to remain calm.

"He's not the first psycho to hire us, nor the last. You think that's commentary on us?" Mal tries to make a joke, but Zoe doesn't laugh.

"I just have an image in my head of a guy hanging from the ceiling." Zoe tried and fails to blink the image away.

"I've got an image of it not being me or River. Let's do the thing." He nods as they exit the car. As they enter the new car they both come to a screeching halt as they are faced with twenty feds. "Hi." He smiles. As they move through the car they both do their best to not make eye contact.

"Sir, is there some information we might maybe be lacking as to why there's an entire fedsquad sitting on this train?" She says when they make it to the next car.

"Doesn't concern us." He brushes it off.

"It kinda concerns me." She is astonished by the way he simply ignores them.

"I mean they're not protecting the goods. If they were, they wouldn't be letting people past 'em" He tried to reason with her.

"you don't think that changes the situation a bit?" She continues the argument.

"I surely do." He pauses to smile at her. "Makes it more fun."

"Sir? I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." She smirks

"Come one. We stick to the plan. We get the goods, we're back on Serenity before the train even reaches Paradiso, only now we do it under the noses of twenty trained Alliance Feds. And that makes 'em look all manner of stupid. Hell, this job I would pull for free." He grins at the thought of making the Alliance look like a bunch of idiots.

"Can I have your share?" She asks through a quiet laugh.

"No."

"If you die, can I have your share?"

"Yes."

"Hey Kaylee." River walks into the cargo Bay where Kaylee is getting the harness ready for Jayne.

"Hey River!" Kaylee is the only person she knows that can remain calm and happy during a heist.

"So what's the plan then?" River watches her carefully.

"We fly over the train car. The Captain and Zoe sneak in, we lower Jayne onto the car, and they bundle up they booty, and we haul 'em all back up. Easy as lyin'" Kaylee grins.

"And they've done this before?" River gives her a questioning look.

"Hell, no." Kaylee says laughing "But I think it's gonna work. The Captain's jen duh sh tyen tsai when it comes to plans."

"Funny I heard he gets shot a lot." River smiles. "Is there anything I can do?" They both turn to see Jayne stomping into the hold.

"Stayin' the hell outta everyone's way." He said a little harsher than he should have. River shrugs into herself.

"There's no call to be snappy Jayne." Kaylee says shocked that Jayne had actually yelled at River.

"You about to jump on a movin' train?" He glares at Kaylee. "Captain ain't around. I'm in charge."

"Since when?" Kaylee asks.

Jayne turns around to see River staring at him like he just slapped her. He realized that maybe he spoke to her a little too harshly and he sighs and places his hands on her shoulders.

"Look, I'm sorry, just promise me you'll stay in your room until I call fer ya?" She nods, but walks out of the hold silently.

"Don't think I've ever seen ya be so rude to her Jayne." Kaylee raised an eyebrow at him.

"Told Mal I'd keep her safe and that's what I intend on doin'" He doesn't even bother to look at Kaylee as he pulls his hat on. "Don't let her help with anything Dong Ma?" Kaylee nods and double checks his harness. "Time for some thrillin' heroics." Jayne drops down onto the train and quickly makes his way over to the opening Mal had made for him. Just as they get the cargo secure to go up one of the Fed enters and sets off the smoke trap that Mal and Zoe had set. The fed panics and fire off a few shots hitting Jayne in the leg.

"Go! Go now!" Jayne yells into the com causing Kaylee to pull the cargo up. As the cargo hits the cargo hold floor Jayne collapses to the floor. River hearing the commotion comes running out and runs to make sure Jayne is okay.

"Where are the others?" Kaylee yells.

"AH! They shot my gorram leg." Jayne ignores the question. River helps him up and they slowly make their way to the infirmary.

The train had come to a complete stop and luckily Zoe and Mal had not been seen. They look around and see the town, much like most towns out on the rim is mostly made up of people jut struggling to survive. They listen in on the conversation between the Sheriff and a fed.

"Our man didn't get a look." The fed said sadly.

"Well, Jesus, can somebody find out what they took?" H looks out and spots someone useful in the crowd. "Handy! Keep those people together." The deputy wanders over to the Sheriff with a sad look in his eye.

"It's the medicine, sir. All of the supplies." He kicks the ramp linking the train to the ground.

"The stole the gorram medicine?" He looks around at the crown milling about the train. "we've been waitin'… All of it?" He runs a hand through his hair.

"Every ounce." The deputy nods. Mal and Zoe look at the towns people and notice for the first time most are coughing or look in general like they are sick.

"God help us." The Sheriff sighs and wanders off.

"Son of a bitch." Mal says looking at an obviously upset Zoe.

Jayne is sitting on the table wincing every time River adds another stitch. He is obviously pissed and getting antsier by the second.

"Gorram it, let's get us moving." He tries to stand, but River pushes him back on the bed.

"I'm not finished." She says through her teeth.

"Why are you parked here?" He yells at Wash completely ignoring River. "This ain't the go tsao de rendezvous spot."

"It is now." Wash say with annoyed look.

"That's cause people are waitin', they ain't partial to waitin'" He grips the side of the bed.

"Let 'em read a magazine. We don't make the sale until Mal and Zoe are back on the boat." He says sarcastically, but Jayne can tell he's being completely serious.

"These are stone killers, little man. They ain't cuddly like me." He ignores River's eye roll and continues to glare at Wash.

"I'm not flying anywhere without my wife." Wash continues to stand his ground.

"She'll be okay." Kaylee says nervously. "She's with the Captain."

"There, you see? Everybody wins." He says trying to stand up. As he tries to put his leg down he screams in pain. "Riv. I need something to quiet this pain." She nods and begins mixing something together.

"Now I'm in ruttin' charge here, and I'm tellin' you how it works. We don't get the goods to Niska on time and there's a good chance he's gonna be coming after Riv." She goes stiff beside him. "I ain't gonna let that happen." He whispers to her.

"Is this Adelai Niska you're talking about?" Shepherd asks from the doorway. Jayne winces as River sticks him with the needle.

"Now how would a Shepherd know a name like that?" Jayne raises an eyebrow when he asks the question.

"As I've heard it, he made a deal with the Captain. If the Captain's not there to finish it, if Niska finds out their being held, and may speak as to who hired him; for little River's sake I think we're better off being a little late.

"So what are you doing in Paradiso?" The Sheriff asks Mal and Zoe as they sit in front of him.

"Just got married. Lookin' for work." Mal says calmly.

"you a miner by trade? Either of you?" The sheriff asks skeptically

"Not really." Mal shrugs.

"hm. You don't see many choose this life weren't born to it."

"well, work is real scarce for a couple just starting out." Zoe says trying to diffuse the situation.

"How come there's so many sick?" Mal finally asks the obvious question.

"Bowden's malady. Know what it is?" He says looking at their fake names on the tickets.

"Affliction of the bone and muscle. Degenerative." Zoe nods.

"Yea turns out everyone gets it here. Hell, I got it, I ain't never set foot in a mine." He says panicking.

"But it's treatable?" Zoe's voice remains cool and calm as always.

"Yes, but our shipment just got stolen. Which is why you won't be seeing a parade in town today." He frowns.

"Thought I saw Alliance on that train." Mal smirks.

"yea, but they left for their own camp while ago. Alliance ain't much use out here on the border planets." The Sheriff was seething.

Jayne limps up the stairs to the bridge where Wash and River are sitting. Everyone else is following him.

River glares at him, but she knows that she can't really be mad at him. He's just trying to protect her.

"That's it! We've waited long enough. Let's get this bird in the air." He says sternly.

"No rutting way." Wash stands up to defy him.

"You really should sit down." River says to Jayne, but he simply shrugs her off.

"You can't just leave the Captain and Zoe here." Kaylee says behind him.

"They ain't comin', we can't walk in there and get 'em, so they're done. Now let's fire it up." He makes a move towards Wash.

"Everyone strap in, we're taking off." He says over his shoulder to the others.

"We're not!" Wash steps closer to Jayne, almost challenging him.

"We have to make sure River's safe! I promised the Captain." He turns to look at River. "lets go."

"listen to me." Wash says holding his hands up.

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin' command here. Now we're finishing this deal, and then maybe we'll come back for those morons who got themselves caught." He begins to breathe heavily "you can't change that by getting all…" His voice starts to drop in tone. "Bendy."

"All what?" Wash asks not understanding what Jayne says.

"You've got the light… from the console… keep you, lift you up. They shine like…" He reaches out to grab something that isn't there. "…little angels…" Jayne collapses forward and the crew just stares for a minute.

"Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?" Wash looks to River for answers.

"I told him to sit down." She smirked.

"You doped him?" Kaylee almost smiles at River's guts.

"It was suppose to kick in a good deal sooner. Let's figure out a plan and got get my father." She smiles at the rest of the crew.

"I like you more and more each day River girl." Wash smiles and sits back down in the pilots seat.

"So. How do we get the others?" Book looks around to see if anyone has an idea.

"Jayne was right about them not making contact. Chances are, they got pinched getting off that train." Wash says still smiling at River.

"We can't just wait and pull them out." Kaylee suggests.

"Someone respectable might be able to." Book looks over at Inara who looks up and realizes that everyone is staring at her.

Inara looks around the Sheriff's station and spots Mal sitting there with Zoe. She walks over quickly to glare at him.

"What the hell?" Mal says shocked to see Inara in a place like this. Inara pulls back and punches him.

"Don't you dare speak to me." She then turns to the sheriff. "Sheriff, I want this man bound by law at once. That's assuming he hasn't been already?"

"No one's been bound yet." He looks between the group confused.

"Thank go you stopped them." She places a hand to her chest and turns back around to look at Mal. "Sis you honestly think you could access my accounts and I wouldn't find you? And Zoe, what would your husband say if he knew you were here?"

"I… I was weak." Zoe fakes a look of Shame and looks at the ground.

"So I take it they ain't newlyweds?" The Sheriff smirks.

"Hardly. Malcolm's my indentured man, with three years left on his debt. I imagine we'll have to add another six months after this little adventure." She glares back at Mal. She then notices all the men staring at her.

"You'll have to pardon them. Don't think a one of em's ever seen a registered Companion before." He apologizes for the men.

"I apologize for my manner." She smiles at him.

"Oh, not a bit." He waves it off.

"Should I contact my ship? Do you need to hold them very much longer?" She asks trying her best to sound respectful

"Looks to me like we're about done here. I, uh. We had some unrelated trouble. His story had a kind of an order to it." He says proud of himself that he smelt the funny business.

"Yes, it's not the only thing about him that does." She smirks at Mal "Thanks you, very much Sheriff." She turns back to Mal and Zoe "Come along."

"That's one hell f a lady. Her files were all in order?" His eyes follow her out the door.

"I ran 'em twice " He nods

"Hmm. Let's get started with the rest, then." He shrugs and turns back to face the rest of the passengers from the train.

River can tell Mal's upset when he storms into the Cargo bay with Inara and Zoe on his heels. He sees Jayne on the stairs and gives River a questioning look.

"He's heavy and we couldn't carry him back to his room." She shrugs and looks to him for instructions.

"Captain, I've got the engine runnin, we're good to go." Wash says

"We're not going. We're takin' the cargo back." Mal says.

"Back? Whadda mean back? I waited for you guys!" Jayne slurs in his semi-conscious state.

"What are you talking about? What about Niska?" Wash asks nervously.

"There's others need this more." Mal grunts trying to move the cargo to Inara's shuttle. "we'll just have to explain to Niska the job went south. We'll give him back the money."

"Now's your chance." River mumbles nervously moving closer to Inara who wraps her arms around the young girl.

They all turn to see Crow walking up the ramp with a few more of Niska's men.

"You didn't make the rendezvous." He complains.

"Ran into a few complications." Mal shrugs.

"You were thinking of takin Mr. Niska's money and his property, maybe." He says menacingly.

"Ah, neither actually." Mal says tossing Crow the bag of money Niska had given him.

"I don't understand." Crow looks confused.

"We changed our minds." Mal Says

"There is no mind changing."

"look we'll just call it even." Mal says putting up his hands.

"There is no even." Crow shakes his head.

"Is that right?" Mal smirks, but quickly yells when Crow throws a knife into his shoulder. Zoe exchanges shots with a few men. Wash seizing his opportunity to help took out a few men with the mule. As Mal tries his best to fight off Crow he hears a shot ring out and Crow falls to the ground holding his knee which has been shot. Mal turns to see Jayne pointing a gun in his general direction.

"Nice shot." Mal smirks.

"I was aiming for his head." Jayne slurs which causes Mal to panic.

Mal and Zoe finish unloading the medicine on the edge of town. He looks everything over, double checking that everything is there and moves to go back to the mule.

"we'll notify the sheriff when we're in deep, deep space." Mal says looking at Zoe.

"Why not tell him in person?" The sheriff walks towards them with several men guns at the ready. "Everything here?" he looks to Mal who nods. "you were truthful back in town. These are tough times. If a man can get a job, he might not look too close at what that job is. But a man learns all the details of a situation like ours, well, then he has a choice." He says lowering his weapon as the men behind him begin to load up the medicine.

"I don't believe he does." Mal said with a serious look on his face. The Sheriff nods to him and then walks away with his men.

Mal looks at Crow who is in front of him hands tied behind his back. He looks as defiant as ever.

"Keep the money." Crow spits "Use it to buy a funeral. It doesn't matter where you go, or how far you fly. I will hunt you down, and the last thing you see before you die." He looks up to see River helping Jayne up from the stairs. "Is me taking off with your pretty little daughter."

"Darn." Mal says kicking Crow into the engine intakes. They wait for the crunching sounds to stop before Zoe drags another one of Niska's men over.

"Now This is all the money…" Mal starts.

"Oh, I'm good. I speak for everyone. I'm right there with you." The henchmen says quickly causing Mal to smile.

Mal winces as River stitches up his shoulder.

"You should have let me do this sooner." She scolds him like a child.

"I have had plenty worse it's just." He winces again. "OUCH!"

"Sorry" River grimaces, but continues.

"That was pretty fast thinkin' doping up Jayne." He smiles thinking that at least River got that from him. "Can't say he's gonna be to happy when he fully wakes up."

"Well he can't ever stay mad at me." She smirks finishing up. "Besides if you think he'll be mad about that just wait until the morning."

"Why what's happening in the morning?" Mal panicked.

"You'll see." She laughed to herself.

"You know your mother use to do that and it's just as unsettlin' now as it was then." He yells at her, but he can't wipe the smile off his face.

**Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please read and review. The more you review the faster I update.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I want to thank everyone who has started following this story or who had reviewed you really give me the motivation to keep going. As aways I do not own anything and no profit was made.**

River loved waking up in the mornings before everyone else was awake. It gave her time to make breakfast in silence, but it also gave her time to think. She thought about lots of things, but lately her mind had begun to drift towards her mother. She wondered what she was like, what she liked to do and how she stayed hidden for so long. She wondered if she loved her and just how much she loved the Captain. She wondered what sort of advice she would give her about Jayne. As she thought this over and made breakfast Mal walked into the mess followed by a very tired Wash and Zoe. He smiled at all of them and finished her final touches on breakfast. She did her best to make the protein taste good, but she wasn't a miracle worker.

"Good morning little one." Zoe smiled at her as she poured two cups of coffee, one fore herself and one for Wash.

"Aren't you gonna pour me a cup?" Mal pouted in from his seat.

"Oh my goodness!" River exclaimed causing everyone to look at her. "What's happened to your legs?" River allowed a worried glance to mar her naturally calm features.

"Nothing." Mal said looking over his legs carefully.

"So there's nothing wrong with your legs?" River then looked at him confused and began to pour her own coffee.

"No. Unless there's something you know that I don't" Mal was starting to get worried.

"Oh. Well then you are perfectly capable of getting your own cup of Coffee." She smirked taking a sip from her mug and sitting down at the table. "Zoe is not your slave you lazy butt." She kicked at him playfully while Zoe and Wash tried to cover their snickering with coughs.

"Hey now! I'm not lazy!" Mal tried his best to sound upset, but he was failing miserably.

"Oh well do you pilot the ship?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No." Mal said looking at the ground.

"Fix the ship?" Mal shook his head.

"Protect the ship?" Mal glared at her.

"Well surely you fix up the occupants who do all these things?" She gasped. "No…?" Mal continued to glare. "Well then… you are perfectly capable of getting your own cup of coffee in the morning." She teased as she took another drink. At this point Zoe and Wash were leaning on each other laughing while Mal stood up and stalked his way into the kitchen grumbling about not getting any respect. Wash paused to laugh to take a sip of his coffee and then promptly spit it back out into his cup.

"You want to know what bothers me?" Wash asked to no one in particular.

"That the Brontosaurus isn't actually a dinosaur." River said off handedly.

"What?" Wash turned to her as he was thrown off his current train of thought.

"You know. That there isn't such a thing as a Brontosaurus." Wash looked at her in total confusion. She smiled sweetly and continued to explain herself. "Charles Marsh discovered an incomplete dinosaur and named it the Apatosaurus. He mistakenly put an incorrect skull on it and so when a complete skeleton of an Apatosaurus it looked like a different dinosaur altogether. Also the original one he found was a juvenile and so the second one was an adult and larger thus adding to the confusion. So everyone now thinks of this dinosaur mistakenly as a Brontosaurus." She smirked at him while he stared in utter shock.

"How did you know all of that?" Wash stared wide eyed. "I didn't even know that."

"Well when I first came aboard I figured it would be best to bring my compact cortex and study up on everyone's favorite things. Mal likes to discuss the war, Kaylee likes Mechanical stuff, Jayne likes weapons, book enjoys discussing religion, Zoe and Inara like to just talk about their personal lives." She smiled at the older woman hoping she hadn't told too much, but when her smile was returned she knew she was fine.

"You researched dinosaurs so you could talk to me about them?" Wash said making a strange face.

"yes…" River said raising an eyebrow at the strange man's face.

"Can I… Can I keep her?" Wash asked looking at Zoe who simply smiled and shook her head. River giggled and continued to drink her coffee while Mal looked at her beaming. "You know I haven't heard from Jayne yet. Maybe he's still sulking because our little genius here drugged him."

"I doubt that." River said nonchalantly "He's probably still sleeping."

"Why's that? He not mad anymore?" Mal asked finally retaking his seat next to her.

"I drugged him again. I needed a full nights rest if I'm going to deal with angry Jayne." Zoe smirked at the younger girl, she had guts.

They sat in relative silence, all content sit in their own minds for awhile longer. They continued like this for another half hour before they heard a loud crash come from the crew's bunks and then someone yelling. River began to giggle again as she quickly stood up from the table.

"Was that Jayne?" Wash asked looking around the table.

"RIVER!" they heard his loud and angry footsteps heading towards them.

"What did you do River?" Mal asked trying to keep the smile from his face.

"You'll see." She giggled as she silently ducked out of the room. They watched the door she walked out of for a moment and then turned to see Jayne standing there covered head to toe in glitter. Zoe and Mal did their best to control their laughter, but Wash fell to the floor holding his stomach. Mal looked a bit closer and noticed Jayne's shirt and pants were completely soaked.

"Where is that little brat!" He said through his teeth.

"Don't rightly know Jayne." Mal smirked. "She took off right after ya started yellin' for her."

"You look ridiculous!" Wash said wiping his eyes as he sat up in his chair. "What the hell happened to you?"

"She put a bucket full of water and glitter on my closed hatch so when I opened it; it all fell on me!" He hollered.

"Oh that's never coming off." Zoe snickered.

"Where'd she go?" Jayne turned to Mal.

"Well now Jayne I can't let ya go layin' hands on my daughter." Mal smirked knowing full well Jayne would never hurt River, but he did want to know his plan for vengeance.

"Ain't gonna hurt her, but if I gotta be covered in this so does she." Jayne glared.

"Oh well in that case… She went that way." Mal pointed to the door River had exited through.

"TRAITOR!" he smirked as he heard River yell at him. She hadn't gotten far; she had obviously wanted to see her handy work.

"Oh yer dead little girl." Jayne said taking off after her.

"You call me a little girl, but your name is Jayne and you're the one covered in glitter." After she said her peace she was off like a rocket with Jayne hot on her trail.

It took two hours for Jayne to finally catch River, but it all ended with both of them hysterically laughing and River covered in glitter. They sat there in the common area laughing until Mal walked in and told River that she had a wave from her uncle. She smirked at Jayne for a moment before walking off to go to see what Simon wanted. Jayne sat there for a moment before standing up and heading towards the showers.

"Hello Simon. How are you?" She smiled happily. She truly missed him and her heart hurt slightly to see his face and not be able to hug him.

"I'm good River. Why are you covered in glitter?" He said looking closely at her.

"Oh I played a prank on Jayne and he' covered in glitter." She smirked "I guess he felt it was only fair I be covered in glitter as well."

"River, you need to behave yourself." Simon scolded her.

"Simon did you have something to tell me or did you just want to tell me what to do?" She hated when Simon did this. "Do I need to remind you that I am an adult and I will do what I want."

"River you just don't need to upset anyone and have them turning you into the Alliance." He said calmly hoping she didn't pick up on the last part.

"Oh Jayne would never. He's my friend he thought it was funny too besides why would the feds be looking for me?" She sat down in the empty pilots chair waiting for the explanation she wasn't even sure she wanted.

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about. It seems that mother and father-" He was quickly cut off by River

"REAGAN AND GABRIEL! THEY ARE NOT MY PARENTS!" She yelled at him.

"River they raised you." He was trying to calm her down. He knew that she could easily turn off the wave and she needed to hear what was going on.

"No they raised you! They despised me." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Okay… well they have reported you as a runaway to the feds. They have informed them of your impending marriage contract and the Alliance is now actively looking for you. It appears Mr. Wing is not thrilled with you gallivanting about the verse." Simon did his best to maintain a calm demeanor, but he was failing miserably. "So you need to do your best to stay out of the Alliances way for awhile."

"I understand. I will inform the Captain. " She nodded, but she began to wonder if she was putting all these people in danger.

"alright. How are things River?" he smiled glad that she wasn't blaming him for his parent's mistakes.

"Things are fine. It's great out here in the black. I think I want to stay with them Simon." She beamed at him and Simon thought he had never seen her so happy.

"Well so long as the Captain is okay with it." Simon smiled at her.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Mal said walking up and placing a hand on River's shoulder. "We'll do our best to keep her away from the Alliance."

"Glad to hear it Mal." He was glad that River had someone to look after her just like he use to. "Well I should go before they realize I am still speaking to you. I'll do my best to send you another wave when I can."

"Alright Simon I'll talk to you later." She blew him a kiss through the screen.

"Oh and River I found some more medical files about Abigail, your mother, I figured you would want to read them rather than me just telling you." He said raising up a few files.

"Sounds great Simon when can I expect them?" She was glad that she would find out what exactly was done to her mother.

"Well the next time you land on Persephone." He said setting them down. "I'll address them to Mal." She nodded her understanding.

"Thank you Simon. I would love to continue this conversation, but I have to get to the shower before this glitter becomes impossible to remove. Goodbye Simon I love and miss you." She blew one more kiss to him.

"And I you River." She smiled sweetly before shutting off the wave and turning to Mal.

"Is Jayne out of the showers yet?" He nodded and she made her way happily to her room to grab her shower items.

River let the warm water run over her gasping at how wonderful the sensation felt. She let her thoughts slowly drift to Jayne and how much he obviously cared for her. She wondered about her decision to stay on the boat and what that meant for everyone on the ship. She scrubbed at her hair furiously trying her best to make sure no glitter remained as she finished her shower she let the water slowly turn cold and she finally shut it off. She wrapped a towel around herself and wiped the fog off the tiny mirror Kaylee had set up in the bathroom for the women. She still wasn't use to the short haircut and it took so much work to style it properly. She was getting dressed when she began to hear a loud rhythmic thumping coming from the cargo hold. She threw on her shirt and made her way towards the noise.

Mal fell against the wall hard and let out a loud groan of frustration. He was sweaty and out of breath, but he did not like to lose especially to Jayne of all people. Hell he was already competing for his daughter's attention with him he didn't want to lose bragging rights to him. Zoe ran over to him almost as out of breath as he was.

"We're dead." He huffed to her.

"I believe we still have a shot, sir." She tried her best to perk up his spirits, but it wasn't looking to promising.

"Haven't really learned a terrible lot about losing- have you, Zoe?" He looked over at her

"Only since I've been under your command, Sir." She smirked at him.

"Fair." He laughs.

Zoe laughs a little before pulling him back towards the game. Book walks over even sweatier and out of breath than Zoe or Mal and takes in Jayne, Kaylee and Wash's stance.

"I think we've got 'em on the run now!" he coughs out as Mal and Zoe take their place next to him.

"Our cunning strategy of getting our asses plainly whooped must be starting to confound 'em." He bent over and grabbed his knees trying to catch his breath. The game starts up again and it becomes a free for all. Kaylee starts off with the ball and manages to get past Mal with a chuckle. She looks around to see her options and decides to pass the ball to Wash. He caught it with a smug grin and then tossed it sideways to the hoop. He runs around with his arms in the air as the ball sinks through the hoop. As Mal makes his way towards the ball Jayne barrels through and runs past both book and Zoe. He tosses the ball in Wash's general direction. Wash pauses and looks for an opening.

"Somebody cover my wife." He huffs.

"Every time you ain't lookin'" Jayne smirks and makes his way over to block Zoe.

"He's dampening my team spirit." Wash says to Kaylee who simply shrugs and moves off.

River walks out on the catwalk. She watches for a few moments before Jayne looks up and smiles at her. She returns it and continues to watch, fascinated by the game that is unfolding below her. Jayne looks to Zoe who smirks at him knowing he'll do something to try and impress River.

"Gimmie the ball." He says making his way towards Wash. Wash looks up and sees River and then tosses him the ball. He pushes forward and Mal tries his best to intercept him, but Jayne manages to sides step him. Mal falls to the ground and grimaces while Jayne shoots the ball and scores. Zoe laughs as Jayne beams at River's approving smile and laughter and then makes her way over to help Mal up.

"Don't s'pose I could threaten to put him off the boat, he does that again?" He says as he rights himself.

"You could, sir. But he's one of the few people that keeps you from getting shot and River might be a bit upset." She points up to where River is standing smiling down at Jayne as he takes victory lap around the cargo hold.

"There's a point" he shrugs. The game slowly starts up again and Jayne tries in vain to pass the ball to Kaylee, but Zoe intercepts it and the game turns into keep away.

Inara, hearing the commotion, emerges slowly from her shuttle and laughs when she sees everyone playing the game. She looks across the catwalk and sees River standing there watching Jayne intently. Inara takes up the empty space and begins to watch the game silently next to River. She looks down just in time to see Wash scooping up the ball and Zoe taking off after him. Kaylee meanwhile manages to climb up a few storage crates sitting off to the side and motions for Wash to throw her the ball. Mal then runs up after her.

"Ah! Jayne!" Kaylee screams through laughter. Jayne runs up with a dopey grin on his face. She climbs up on his shoulders and they make their way to the hoop. As River watches the situation unfold, which looks an awful lot like flirting to her, she feels her stomach drop and she frowns. Jayne looks up and see her frowning and loses concentration. He veers off course and nearly drops Kaylee. Kaylee drops the ball and chaos ensues as everyone, but Jayne scrambles for the ball.

"Who's winning?" Inara asks trying to get River's attention away from Jayne.

"I… uh… I can't really tell… they don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules that I know." She says looking over at Inara.

"well this far out, you kind of make your own." She smirks at the younger woman and turns her attention back to the game. She notices how River flinches every time Kaylee touches or jokes around with Jayne. Inara places a comforting hand on River's and smiles at her.

"he has no feelings for Kaylee River, calm yourself." River lets out a deep breath.

"I don't see why that would matter to me. His feelings are his business and none of mine." She says going to stand up. Inara stands up with her.

"River, don't lie to yourself. You know you have feelings for him and by denying him you're doing more harm then good." She pats the girl on the arm.

"Look Inara I'm handling this my own way. Everything is fine and I will not put him in danger." Inara looked at her raising an eyebrow. "I know you read the marriage agreement and I know you have been with Mr. Wing. I did my own research before when I thought I was going to be tied to him my whole life." Inara nodded. "I just ask that you all stay out of it." River sighs and then looks around nervously as an alarm starts going off.

"Proximity alert. Must be comin' up on somethin' …" Zoe said looking at Wash.

"Oh, gawd! What could it beee? We're doomed! Who's flyin' this thing?" Wash yells looking around the room. It causes River to giggle and wash looks up at her and grins. Jayne looks between the two of them and then grimaces. He knows that Wash is married, but something was still unsettling about the smile that passed between the two. "Oh. Right. That'd be me. Back to work." He laughs tossing the ball to Mal and walking off towards the bridge.

"Hey guess that leaves us a man short, don't it?" She smiles up at River.

"Little Kaylee's always a "man short"" Jayne teases and River tightens her muscles again and grimaces. Kaylee smirks and punches Jayne on the arm before calling up to River. "Say, River? Why don't you come on down, play for our side. Inara won't mind."

"Only if I can switch with Book and play against Jayne." River narrows her eyes at Jayne who looks around worried as she descends the stairs.

Wash makes it to the bridge and looks through the cockpit window to see a derelict ship rolling in place. Wash slides carefully into the pilot's seat and turns off the alarm. He leans forward to peer out the just as a dead body comes into view. It was a man at one point, but now it is barely recognizable. It's eyes are black staring sockets, it's face is purple and it's mouth is stretched back into a grimace. Wash lets out a girlish shriek s he grabs the controls and banks the ship hard. After a few minutes he hears the sound of everyone's footsteps stomping up towards the bridge.

"Wash, you have a stroke or something?" Mal yells.

"Near enough." Wash says not taking his eyes off the ship that continued to roll in front of him.

"What happened…?" Zoe says looking up finally seeing the ship.

"Wo de ma" Jayne says instinctively reaching over to grab River's hand. She jerks it away from him and he turns to look at her. She glares for just a moment before turning her attention back to the ship.

"Anyone home?" Mal says leaning forward.

"Been hailing her. But if whoever's there's as healthy as the guy we just ran over, can't imagine they'll be pickin' up." Wash began pressing some more buttons trying his best o hail the ship.

"Bring us in a little closer."

"Get you close enough to ring the doorbell." Wash said quietly.

"So what do we figure? Transport ship?" He was unable to take his eyes off the ship.

"Converted cargo hauler or short range scow, maybe." Wash nods

"You can see she don't wanna be parked like that. Port thrust's gone, which is makin' her spin like she is." Kaylee said getting as close to the window as possible.

"A short range vessel? This far out into space?" River looked over to Mal or Zoe for answers, but instead Wash took up the explanation.

"Retrofitted to carry passengers." He says turning to finally face the crew.

"Travelers pick 'em up cheap at government auction. A few modifications and they serve well enough for a one-way push to the outer planets." Zoe said placing a comforting hand on River's shoulder.

"Settlers." Book says coming to the realization of just who was probably on that ship.

"Probably squeeze fifteen, maybe twenty families on a boat that size, you pack 'em tight enough." Wash shrugs. He figured that it was common knowledge.

"Families…" Inara gasps from her place behind everyone.

"Tell you what I think. I figure that fella we ran into did everyone on board, killed 'em all, then decided to go for a swim, see how fast his blood'd boil out his ears." Jayne says earning a glare from River.

"You're a very "up" person." Wash calls over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't we report this?" Book asks Mal.

"Rudderless boat this far out, probably canned fish by now." He tries once more for River's hand, but gives up when she walks back towards where Inara is standing.

"You can't know that for sure." Kaylee scolds him.

"If there's folks in need of help, why ain't they beaming no distress call?" He says sternly.

"It's true. There's no beacon." Zoe says agreeing with Jayne something feels off to her.

"Which means it's likely nobody's looking to find 'er" Mal says looking to Zoe for her opinion.

"All the more reason for us to do the right thing." Book says trying his best to get everyone's attention.

"How 'bout you just say a prayer while we slide on by? That oughta do it." Jayne says looking back towards Book.

"Shall I remind you of the story of the Good Samaritan?" Book says angrily turning towards Jayne.

"Rather you didn't" Mal rolls his eyes. "But we will check it out."

"So we a search and rescue tug now?" He says trying to reason with Mal.

"No. But the Shepherd's not wrong. Could be survivors. And if not, well- then no one's gonna mind if we take a look around, see if there's not something of value they might've left behind." Mal smirks at Jayne knowing he wouldn't turn down a pay day.

"right." Jayne thinks for a moment "Yeah… no. Someone could be hurt." River rolls her eyes and exits the bridge not wanting to be around Jayne anymore than necessary at the moment.

"Wash, hook us up." He says and then follows the rest of the crew out of the bridge.

River walks up to the airlock carrying a portable med-kit. She watches from a distance as Mal and Zoe start suiting up and going through the checklist.

"Where you think you're headed?" Jayne scoffs at her. She turns to see Jayne loading Zoe's shotgun and checking over a few other weapons.

"I thought I would be able to help if there are any survivors in need of any medical services. I may not be a doctor like my brother, but I believe I can help a little." He tone is all business which throws Jayne off.

"Yeah… well… Cap and Zoe are going in first. We'll holler if we need ya." River continues to watch Zoe and Mal put on their suits and check their helmets. Jayne notices River's mood and takes it for concern and discomfort.

"Somethin' wrong?" He asks concerned.

"No. Just the thought of a little Mylar and glass being the only thing separating a person from nothing." She shrugs turning her attention to Jayne.

"Impressive what "nothing" can do to a man. Like that feller we bumped into. He's likely stuck up under our belly about now. That's what space trash does, ya know. Kinda latches onto the first big somethin' stops long enough." He says. He thinks about what he said for just a minute and realizes he probably scared her. "Look ain't nothin' to be scared 'bout. Mal and Zoe are gonna be fine."

"I know. Nothing isn't anything to be afraid of." She says looking at him calmly. "Sometimes nothing can be peaceful. Quiet." She say and then wanders off towards the bridge to see if Wash needs any help.

The ship has been running n emergency power only. It's dark and it unnerves Zoe and Mal a bit. They keep their weapons at the ready as they move with caution through the ship. Zoe looks down at a child's tricycle that's blocking the pathway. She looks up at Mal who looks concerned, but motions for her to keep moving.

"Emergency power's up. Dashboard light." Mal says walking a few steps in front of Zoe.

They make their way to the cafeteria and see that the tables are made and a few high chairs are set up around the table. Several plates of food remain on the table in various states of decomposition. You could tell that whatever happened had occurred during dinner.

"Whatever happened here happened quick." Zoe nods at Mal's statement and he starts to move forward again.

They enter the bridge slowly and it's the same scene there. Several cups of coffee sit untouched. A board game with pieces scattered all over it. Zoe begins to look over the controls while Mal continues to look around.

"Everything was left on… ship powered down on its own." She pauses No sign of struggle. Just—"

"Gone." Mal finishes her statement.

"Sir." She turns around indicating she found something. "Personal log. Someone was in the middle of an entry. She turns to him almost asking if she should bother playing it. He nods and she hits the button. They both cover their ears as an ear piercing screeching cuts through the silence.

Jayne walks to River's room quietly thinking over the look she had on her face earlier. She looked almost upset with him and he begins to think over what he said that could have upset her. He probably should have been a bit more compassionate when it came to the possibility of people being in trouble, but it wasn't like that was out of character for him. She looked up as he knocked on her door.

"Yes?" She asked her face void of emotion.

"Uh… Mal wants ya over there. Thinks you'll be able to help Kaylee." She nods acknowledging his statement and slipping on her combat boots. As they walk silently to the airlock her finally works up the ability to speak to her.

"I do somethin' to piss ya off?" He asks looking at her.

"No." She says no, but her voice betrays her emotion.

"alright I can tell by yer tone that yer upset. What'd I do?" he asks trying to take her hand, but she jerks away from him.

"Don't pretend you know me enough to know when I'm upset." She spat.

"I'm just trying to figure out why my friend is upset." He says innocently.

"Well why don't you just ask your other friend Kaylee." Jayne stops mid-stride. That's what this was about? How he acted with Kaylee?

"Really? You think I have feelings for Kaylee?" He smirks knowing she's jealous.

"I don't really care who you have feelings for Jayne." She says finally entering the area where Zoe, Mal and Kaylee sat waiting for them. "Contrary to your belief you are not the center of the verse." She sticks her tongue out at him.

"Don't be stickin' yer tongue out lessin' ya plan on usin' it." He teases, but Mal cuts him off by clearing his throat.

"That's enough you two. We ain't got time for this." He glares at the two younger people standing in front of him. "River you're going with Kaylee." He tosses her a canvas loot bag. "Let's do this quick, people. Coupla loads each. No need to be greedy."

"Where are all the people?" River asks looking around.

"Ship says the lifeboat launched more 'n a week ago. We're gonna assume everyone got off okay. Anyway, we're just here to pick the bones. You two start in the engine room. Jayne, take the galley." They all head off in different directions silently afraid to disturb whatever ghosts remain on the ship.

As Mal and Zoe arrive jut out of ear shot from the rest Zoe clears her throat and speaks up.

"Sir… I count sixteen families signed on. Lifeboat wouldn't hold a third of that." She says stoically.

"I know." He sighs. "Don't think River needs to hear that. Wash? Any luck?" He says into the transmitter.

"_Think I found something pretty well matches that class. Layout looks about right. Seems to me any valuables likely be stored somewhere in C-deck, aft." _

"Good work." Mal says "Keep the motor running. Won't be long."

Wash signs off the cortex and leans back in his chair. He begins to relax knowing that he was just going to have to wait.

"Can't say I much care for this business." Book says behind him causing Wash to jump.

"It's abandoned, Shepherd." Wash says trying to calm himself down.

"And if that's the result of some violence? What if that ship's a crime scene?" Book says trying to reason with him

"Well- if it wasn't before it certainly is now." Wash smiles at his own joke, but the Book only returns the smile out of kindness.

Mal and Zoe approach a storage door. It looks pretty standard not something you would hide valuables behind, but Wash was rarely wrong when it came to ship details.

"This'd be it." Mal says motioning for Zoe to open the door.

"Locked" She says tugging on the door.

"Well- now I'd say that's like to be a very good sign" He smirks as he sparks the blow torch.

River and Kaylee continued their search of the engine room silently. River is jut trying to keep busy as Kaylee examines machinery closely.

"Kaylee." River calls out to her. Kaylee turns around and smiles at her. "You don't have feelings for Jayne do you?" River's throat feels like it's closing up and she's pretty sure she's having a heart attack.

"Oh River sweetie. No. He's like my brother. That's just creepy. I am much more interested in that Shuai Uncle of yours." Kaylee winked causing River to giggle and then start fake gagging.

"Okay moving on to the next subject." River giggles.

"Like how there's nothing mechanically wrong with this ship." Kaylee says astonished.

"What do you mean?" River grows concerned.

"There's nothing wrong with this ship that would make someone leave." She says looking at River with wide eyes. "Here hold the bag open we can use this." She says tossing her a part that she just ripped off the ship.

Zoe peers into the room they just opened with a flash light. There are stacks of government issue terraforming supplies before them The Alliance insignia shines brightly on the front. Zoe and Mal give each other a glance before either speaks.

"Gen-seed, protein, crop supplements. Everything a growing family needs for a fresh start on a new world." Mal scoffs wondering who would leave this behind.

"Hard subsidies for fourteen plus families… that's …" Zoe grows uneasy.

"…about a fortune." Mal finishes for her. He looks over the crates one more time. "We forget the rest and just take this stuff. We'll need a hand hauling it out of here."

"Sir… even on a lifeboat. You'd think those who escaped would have found room for some of this." She said her uneasiness growing. She turns to see Mal staring up at the ceiling.

"No one escaped…" He says quietly.

"Sir?" She questions

"I'm feelin' like nobody left this boat. Nobody…" Zoe glances upwards to see what he staring at and then tries her best to keep herself from vomiting. From what she can see there are three clumps of twisted flesh. The skin, pale and lifeless, seems to glow under their flashlights.

"there's no blood. Not a drop anywhere…" She says taking a step closer to Mal.

"Jen dao mei!" He says grabbing his transmitter. "I know what did this." Zoe looks at him questionly. "Jayne-"He hollers into his transmitter. "Jayne- drop what you're doing and get to the engine room. I want you to take Kaylee and River off this boat." No answer. "Jayne? Jayne, do you read? Jayne?" Mal begins to panic.

River and Kaylee both look at each other as they hear a loud noise from the other side of the ship. River looks out the door in a panic and then back at Kaylee.

"What was that?" River whispers.

"Gun fire." Kaylee panics picking up the bag.

"JAYNE!" River screams out as she runs towards the galley ignoring the call from Kaylee behind her. She runs into Mal and Zoe who both have their guns drawn. She follows behind them and they all jump at the sound of the transmitter going off.

"_What the tyen shiao duh is going on in there?!" _She smirks at Wash's concern.

"Not now, dear." Zoe says calmly into the transmitter. She nods for Mal to move forward and they lead the other two towards the galley. They panic at the sight. The food is covering the floor and tables are overturned. Mal cocks his gun and turns when he hears a noise. He sees Jayne who despite being on the ground has a gun drawn on Mal as well. River runs over to him making sure he's okay. With a quick check she notices he fine and then begins to help him up.

"What'd you see?" Mal asks as Jayne finely rights himself.

"Didn't. Came at me from behind. Big, though. Strong. Think I mighta hit him." He shrugs

"You did…" River says pointing out the blood droplets on the floor behind him. Jayne pushes River behind him as both he and Mal make their way towards a grating where the blood stops. Zoe pushes the grating up with the nose of her gun and the face of a young man appears. He has curled up as small as he can in the corner and he is muttering to himself.

"mercy… mercy… no. Mercy." He continues to mumble.

"Easy, now." Mal says calmly. "Nobody's gonna hurt you." He sees the gunshot wound on his arm. "Anymore than we already did…" He turns to glare at Jayne who is doing his best to block River from the man's view.

"No mercy…" He mumbles again.

"Oh, we got mercy. We got lots and lots of-"He stops talking after he hits the man with the but of his gun knocking him out.

Mal and Jayne sit in the infirmary with River as she checks over the survivor. Neither man was willing to leave her with the survivor. River looks him over. He wasn't any older than she was and quite average looking. She looks over at Jayne with a smirk.

"Yes. He's a real beast. It's a wonder you're still alive." She grins.

"Looked bigger when I couldn't see him." He glared.

"Pulse is rapid, blood pressure's high side of normal. To be expected." She said to Mal who nodded.

"weak. They were all weak." The man continues to mumble.

"Other that the bullet wound, there doesn't appear to be an exterior trauma. Though that crack to the head you gave him probably didn't do him any good." She rolled her eyes. She jumps back as the man rises up and tries to focus on everyone outside of the glass.

"Cattle. Cattle for the slaughter." He continues to mumble.

"Dope him." Mal says trying to remain calm.

"I don't think that's-" River tries to fight, but fails when Mal cuts her off.

"Just do it." She nods and begins to load the syringe.

"No mercy… no resistance…"

River leans over the man and tries to stick him, but he grabs her hand. She shrieks and Jayne jumps up to grab her, but Mal stops him.

"Open up. See what's inside." She quickly gives him the shot and wrenches her arm from his weak grasp.

"Let's chat." He says to River when he sees her confused face. She nods and follows him and Jayne out of the room and towards the common area where everyone is sitting.

"So?" Kaylee begins "How's our patient?" She asks as River sits down in between her and Jayne on the couch.

"Aside from borderline malnutrition, he's in remarkably good health." River sighs trying to figure out just what happened to him to cause that kind of psychological damage.

"So he'll live, then?" Book says obviously relieved.

"Yes." River nods.

"Which, to my mind, is unfortunate." Mal says quietly. He looks around as the others eye him carefully.

"Not a very charitable attitude, Captain." Book scolds him.

"Charity'd be putting a bullet in his brainpan." He says crossing his arms. These people had no idea what was coming.

"MAL!" Inara gasped.

"Only save him suffering." He shrugged as he shuts the infirmary door and bolts it from the outside.

"Nobody goes in there. Nothing more we can do for him now. Not after what he's seen." Mal looks at the ground solemnly

"What do you mean?" River asks sitting a little more forward on the couch.

"That ship was hit by Reavers." Mal says as he walks off towards the mess.

"Reavers…." Jayne mutters obviously scared.

"Tzao gao." Wash gasps.

"I'm sorry Reavers?" River gives them all an accusatory glance. "like the boogeymen from campfire stories?"

"There not stories." Zoe says "And we should hope they don't come back to board us."

"Well what happens if they board us?" River says trying to put on a brave face.

"If they come back they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing. And if we're very, very lucky they'll do it in that order." Zoe says. River looks once more at Jayne who looks just as worried as the rest and she takes his hand as they walk to the mess after Mal.

Inara files in first ready to continue the conversation.

"Mal, how can you know?" She says trying to diffuse the emotions in the room.

""He don't, that's how. No way." He takes a sip of his coffee.

"It was that other fella. The one we run into. It's like I said before- he went stir crazy, killed the rest, took a walk into space." He said to River trying to calm her as she pressed into his side. She knew no one was lying by the way they were all reacting.

"A second ago you were saying-" Kaylee began, but Jayne cut her off.

"Don't matter what I said!" He said sternly motioning down with his head towards River who had continued to bury herself into his side.

"One of 'em was just lucky enough to get out, that's all." Mal said not noticing Jayne trying to sooth River.

"he was the lucky one?" Wash scoffed remembering the young man's state of mind when he finally woke up.

"Luckier than the rest." Mal shrugged. Jayne glared at him.

"Couldn't be Reavers. Wasn't Reavers. Reavers don't leave no survivors." He whispered rubbing comforting circles on her back.

"Strictly speaking- wouldn't say they did." Mal said sadly.

"What are you suggesting?" Book stared him down.

"Don't matter we took him off that boat, Shepherd. It's the place he's gonna live from now on." Mal felt badly for the young man in the infirmary, but he was just stating the facts and fact was that he was never going to be the same.

"I don't accept that. Whatever horror he witnessed, whatever acts of barbarism, it was done by men. Nothing more." Book couldn't see the worst in society and to be frank it pissed Mal off.

"Reavers ain't men!" Jayne said completely giving up on trying to sooth River.

"Of course they are. Too long removed from civilization, perhaps- but men. And I believe there's a power greater than men. A power that heals." Book said so sure in the power of God that it was starting to piss Mal off.

"Reavers might take issue with that philosophy. If they had a philosophy. And if they weren't too busy gnawing on your insides." Mal pressed his fore finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose. "Jayne's right Reavers ain't men."

"Why we still sittin' here? If it was reavers, shouldn't we be gone?" Jayne asked

"Have to say I was kinda wondering that myself." Wash nodded in Jayne's direction.

"work ain't done. Substantial money value still sitting over there." Mal said motioning in the direction of the other ship.

"Pfft." Jayne blew off Mal's statement. "I ain't going back in there with them bodies. No ruttin' way. Not if Reavers messed with 'em" Jayne said pulling River a little closer to him.

"Jayne. You'll scare the women." She said pointing to River.

" I'll go." River said popping her head out from Jayne's side. "I have seen dead bodies before when I visited Simon at the hospital. It won't bother me."

" I'd like to go with him. Maybe see what I can do about putting those folks to rest." Book said solemnly.

"they're already "resting" pretty good, Shepherd. Reavers saw to that." Mal rolled his eyes.

"How we treat our dead is part of what makes us different than those did the slaughtering."Book said looking down on Mal.

"Alright. You go say your words." Mal says knowing that the Shepherd will not give in. "Jayne, you'll help River and Shepherd Book cut down those people. Then you'll load up the cargo."

"I don't believe this. Now we're gonna sit put for a funeral?" Jayne scoffed. He couldn't believe this. He didn't want himself or River anywhere that Ship.

"Yes, Jayne . That's exactly what we're going to do. I won't have these people lookin' over my shoulder once we're gone. Now I ain't sayin' there is any peace to be had. But on the off chance there is- then those folks deserve a little of it." Mal glared at the younger man hanging on to his daughter.

"Fong luh! All of you." He storms off dragging the arm behind him. Book waits a moment, looking at Mal as if he might say something and then decides against it and follows after the two younger crew member. Kaylee and Inara beam at Mal with pride.

"And just when I think I've got you figured out." Inara smiles pleasantly at him and then wanders off towards he shuttle. It is quite on the bridge for a moment when Kaylee finally speaks.

"that was real pretty, Captain. What you said." She smiled at him.

"Didn't think you were one for rituals and such." Wash looked at him like he was a different person.

"I'm not. But I figure it'll keep the others busy for awhile. No reason to concern them with what's to be done." Mal gives them all a grim look.

"Sir?" Zoe knew immediately something was wrong.

"Reavers left a booby trap. We triggered it when we latched on." Mal rubbed a hand across his face.

"And when we detach?" Wash asks already knowing the answer.

"It blows." Mal grimaces.

"Okay- so we don't detach. We just, I don't know, sit tight until…" Wash begins to think about what they can do.

"What? Reavers come back?" Zoe looks at her husband as if he said the stupidest thing she had ever heard.

Kaylee studies the rigged booby trap for moment. It is just at the airlock and her tongue is stuck out between her lips.

"Looks like they've jerry-rigged it with a pressure catch. Only thing that's work with all these spare parts. Could pro'lly bypass that easy, we get to the DC line." She reassures Mal.

"You tell me now, little Kaylee- You really think you can do this?" Mal asks his voice faltering only slightly.

"Sure. Yeah. Think so. 'sides, if I mess up, it's not like you'll be able to yell at me." She smirks at him hoping that her joke put him at ease. She frowns when he realizes that it doesn't

She's working for what seems like forever. Her little tongue popping out the side of her mouth every once in awhile when she's in deep thought. Wash sits there silently handing her tools. Everyone but Kaylee when they hear the airlock open. Jayne slowly rolls in the dolly which he has piled high with cargo.

"What' going on?" He asks narrowing his eyes at Mal.

"Not a thing." He say looking at Kaylee "Right?"

"Not a gorram thing." She nods her head.

"Looks like a thing to me." Jayne says

They all turn and see River and Book walking in through the airlock. They stop talking and look at Kaylee as she finishes up her works.

"Thought we might have had a situation, but it looks to be taken care of. Let's get that stuff stored." Jayne shrugs and pops open one of the smuggling compartments and begins to store the cargo. Mal pulls out his transmitter. "Everybody's home, Wash. Let's go."

They all breathe a sigh of relief as they detach without issue. River walks over to sit on the stairs as Book and Mal start to help put the Cargo up. They all stop what they're doing when the proximity alert begins to go off.

"No, no. Do not say that- it's the Reavers! Gorram Reavers come back!" Jayne says beginning to freak out.

"Get that stuff stored." Mal says running up towards the bridge to figure out what's going on now.

"Like it's gonna matter." Jayne says torn between following orders and going to comfort River who is sitting perfectly still on the stairs.

"Just do it!" Mal yells as he starts to run with Zoe right behind him. They make it to the bridge in record time. Wash is sitting there mesmerized as a green glow overtakes the cockpit.

"Reavers?" Mal asks concerned. He then looks forward to see an Alliance cruiser heading straight for them.

"_Firefly class transport, you are ordered to release control of your helm. Prepare to dock and be boarded."_ They hear the steady voice of an Alliance officer.

"Looks like civilizations finally caught up with us…" Mal says thinking about his next move.

They all hear the heavy footsteps coming up as Jayne and the rest of the crew enter the bridge. Everyone's face is covered in sweat and Mal can tell that They all helped put Cargo away as fast as they could.

"What was it? Was it Reavers?" Jayne asked with a terrified look on his face.

"Open the stash, pull out the goods." Mal says not taking his eyes off the Alliance ship.

"What? Just got done putting it all in-" Jayne begins to whine, but Mal cuts him off.

"Yea, and now I'm telling you to take it all out again." Mal turns and glares at him.

"Why for?" Jayne just looks confused now.

"I got no notion to argue this. In about two minutes time this boat's gonna be crawling with Alliance.

"no…" River says breathily as she backs into the corner trying to make herself as small as possible. Inara walks in completely unaware of the situation and then looks at River. Concern Mars her beautiful features as she rushes over and starts rubbing the girls hair soothingly.

"What's happening?" She asks turning towards the rest of the group.

"Alliance." Kaylee says sadly. "We're being boarded."

"Oh, no." Inara says hugging the small girl to her as River begins to cry.

Jayne, Zoe and Wash are all silently pulling out the cargo. River is still panicking in Inara's arms.

"I've gotta run…" She says

"Can't run. They're pulling us in." Mal says racking his brain trying to think of a plan. "Stack everything right here in plain sight. Wouldn't want it to seem as if we're hiding anything. Might give them Alliance boys the wrong impression." Mal smiles.

"Or the right one." Wash grins.

"That, too." He then looks over near the airlock and sees his plan. "Little one come over here. Gotta get you suited up."

The airlock open with the loud sound of air moving in and the heavy sound of Alliance boots over metal can be heard. The entire crew lines up and looks at them with stone cold emotionless eyes. The leader gives the signal and the officers begin to pat down the crew checking for any hidden weapons.

"Well now, ain't this a whole lotta fuss. I didn't know better, might think we were dangerous." Mal smirks at him.

"Is this your vessel?" He asks

"It is. Bought and paid for. I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds." He says calmly.

"And this is everyone, Captain?" He raises an eyebrow.

"By way of crew, it is." Mal nods. "Though you're gonna find in our infirmary a fella we rescued from that derelict. Saved him, guess you could say."

The man nods to a few men and they head off towards the infirmary.

"And these items" He motions to the cargo. "I take it you "rescued" them as well?" Mal nods. "Looks to me like an illegal salvage operation."

"Does it? That's discouraging." Mal frowns.

"Alliance property, too. You could lose your ship, Captain. But that's a wrist slap compared to the penalty for harboring a fugitive. A girl. When I search this vessel, I won't find them, will I?" He narrows his eyes at Mal.

"No children on this boat." Mal says coldly.

"I didn't say "children". She's an adult."

"I misunderstood." Mal smirks.

"No chance they could have stowed away? No one would blame you for that, Captain. I know how these older Firefly models often have those troublesome little nooks." Mal knows it's a trap. He's waiting for him to say that it's possible and then he's going to arrest him.

"Do they?"

"Smugglers and the like tend to favor just that reason." He then turns to face an officer who walks up to him. He whispers something in the leader's ear and they watch as his eyes go wide. "We'll continue this conversation in a more official capacity." He motions for his men to start searching as some more officers start pushing the crew out the door. "Every inch of this Junker gets tossed." He yells back to his men.

"Junker?!" Kaylee scowls.

"Settle down, Kaylee." He says out of the side of his mouth.

"But, Cap'n You hear what that purple belly called Serenity?"She screeched.

"Shut up!" he ordered.

Inara sits looking at her at the sterile surroundings. She gives the man, who identified himself as Harken, a slight nod before he begins the question.

"You're a companion?" He says looking through her file.

"Yes." She smiles.

"You were based for several years on Sihnon. It's only been in the last year that you've been shipping out with the crew of the Serenity."

"It's just "Serenity," and that's correct. In a few weeks it will be a year. Why is this important?" She says trying her best to maintain a calm demeanor.

"Just trying to put the pieces together. It's a curiosity. A woman of stature such as yourself falling in with these… types." He smirks at her.

"Not in the least. It's a mutually beneficial business arrangement. I rent the shuttle from Captain Reynolds, which allows me to expand my client base, and the Captain finds that having a Companion on board opens certain doors that might otherwise be closed to him." She smiles regally.

"And do you love him?"

Zoe glares at him from the other side of the table.

"I don't see how that's relevant." She says quietly.

"well, he is your husband." He raises an eyebrow at her.

"yes." She nods.

"You two met through Captain Reynolds?"

"Captain was looking for a pilot, I found a husband. Seemed to work out." She broke character and smirked just a little.

"You fought with Captain Reynolds in the war." It's a statement not a question.

"fought with a lot of people in the war." She glares.

"And your husband?"

"Fight with him sometimes, too." She smirks.

"Is there any particular reason you don't wish to discuss your marriage?" he asks getting a little unnerved by her glare.

"Don't see that it's any of your business, is all. We're very private people." She narrows her eyes again.

Wash looks like his normal goofy self as he discusses Zoe with Harken.

"the legs. Oh, yeah. Definitely have to say it was her legs. You can put that down." He motions to Harkens pad of paper.

Kaylee looks at Harken angrily as she discusses Serenity.

"… Six Gurstler's crammed right under every cooling drive so that you strain your primary artery function and end up having to recycle secondary exhaust through a bypass system just so's you don't end up pumping it into main atmo feed and asphyxiating your crew. What genius thought up that lame design? Now that's "junk"." She glares at him once more crossing her arms across her chest.

Harken sits with Jayne in silence as the mercenary refuses to answer any questions, Jayne shifts and then sends a pointed glare at Harken that causes Harken to fidget slightly.

Kaylee sits in silence for a few moments and then takes a breath.

"She ain't "Junk" She says through her teeth all pretenses of the happy young woman gone.

Book sits there calmly with his bible as he waits for the questioning to begin.

"Pirates with their own Chaplain. There's an oddity." Harken smirks.

"Not the only oddity this end of space, Commander. Way of things not always so plain as on the central planets. Rules can be a mite fuzzier." Book says calmly.

"Not for me. Our rules are written down. In books."

"I take my rules from a book, too. But just the one." Book holds up his bible.

"Southdown Abbey. Home to a fairly pious order. How long were you in residence there, Shepherd?"

"Don't right recall. Didn't tend to keep track of the days there. Seemed like long enough, though."

Mal sits alone in the room. He's waiting for Harken. He comes in a few seconds later carrying a thick folder that Mal knows contains his war history. He won't look at Mal and he knows that it's suppose to put him on edge, but it does nothing.

"I figure by now our been over to that derelict. Seen for yourself." Mal says hoping this will be over soon.

"Yes. Terrible thing." Harken nods as he continues to look over the file.

"You want my advice, you won't tow it back. Just fire the whole gorram thing from space. Be done with it."

"That ship is evidence. I'm not in the habit of destroying evidence." Harken scoffs at his request.

" 'course not. Be against the rules. I'm gonna make a leap and figure this is your first tour out here on the border." Mal smirked at him. Harken finally looks up at Mal.

"That's a very loyal crew you have there. But then I see by your record you tend to inspire that quality in people- Sergeant." Harken smirks

"It's not "sergeant." Not no more. War's over."

"for some the war'll never be over. I notice your ship's called "Serenity." You were stationed on Hera at the end of the war." Harken raised an eyebrow at Mal, but continued. "Battle of Serenity Valley too place there, if I recall."

"You know, I believe you may be right." Mal smirked at him/

"Independents suffered a pretty crushing defeat there. Some say after Serenity, the Brown Coats were through. That the war really ended in that valley." Harken looks for any change in Mal's emotions, but frowned slightly when he didn't notice any.

"Hmmm."

"Seems odd you'd name your ship after a battle you were on the wrong side of."

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one." Mal grinned.

"Is that why you attacked that transport?"

"What?!" Mal spits out.

"You're still fighting the same battle, Sergeant. Only these weren't soldiers you murdered. They were civilians. Families. Citizens loyal to the Alliance, trying to make a new life or themselves. And you just can't stand that, can you?" Harken looks at him in disgust.

"So we attacked that ship then brought the only living witness back to our infirmary? That what we did?" Mal raised an eyebrow.

"I'd as him… but I imagine he'll have some trouble speaking with his tongue split down the middle."

"Wuh de tyen, ah." Mal says with wide eyes.

"I haven't see that kind of torture since…well, since the war."

Mal is stunned into total silence and then he realizes just how bad things are going to get.

"Shoulda known… shoulda seen this comin'" Mal rubs his face.

"You and your crew will be bound by law. Formal charges will be transmitted to central authority."

"Commander, I am now what you need to be concerning yourself with right now, Things go the way they are- there's gonna be blood." Mal says trying to remain calm. "That ship was attacked y Reavers."

"Reavers?" Harken laughs

"That's what I said." Mal spit out.

"Can't imagine how many times men I my position hear that excuse." He laughs again.

"It's the truth."

"You saw them , did you?"

"Wouldn't be sitting here talking to you if I had." Mal says knowing that Harken knows the stories about Reavers.

"No. Of course not."

"But I'll tell you who did- that poor bastard you took off my ship. He looked right into the face of it. Was made to stare." Mal tried his best to warn him.

"It?"

"The darkness. Kinda darkness you can't even imagine. Blacker than the space it moves in."

"Very poetic." Harken smirks.

"they made him watch. He probably tried to turn away- they wouldn't let him. You call him a 'Survivor'" Mal scoffs. "He's not. A man comes up against that kind of will, only way to deal with it I suspect… is to become it. He's following the only course that's left to him. First he'll try to make himself look like one… cut on himself, desecrate his own flesh… then he'll start acting like one." Harkens thinks for a moment and they both turn when they hear the door open. The soldier leans down and whispers in Harken's ear. His face goes white as he listens to the what's happening.

"Get him out of here." He points to Mal. "Go to full lock down. I want guards on the nursery—" Mal cuts him off.

"It won't matter. You won't find him." Mal pleads with him. "But I know where he'll go."

As they make their way back to Serenity they all notice the dead guards the sit at the entrance. Mal is being lead through by Harken and a few M.P.s

"Why would he come back here?" Harken looks around nervously.

"Looking for familiar ground." Mal says quietly "He's on the hunt."

"You go first." Harken motions with his gun.

"You wanna uncuff me first." Mal motions to his hands which are still linked together behind his back. Harken rolls his eyes, but uncuffs him anyway. "Thanks. Now I'll really have the advantage."

"I think we should split up." Harken says.

"I really think it would be best if we stick together." Mal says cautiously. "unless you're in the mood to get picked off." Harken thinks for a moment and then sighs.

"Keene, Escobar, you two stay here. Watch the door. Don't need this thing back on my ship." He then turns and motions for Mal to lead the way. They make their way slowly through the engine room, down into the dining room area. Mal takes one step out the door and they both turn at the sound of a loud grunt. They turn to see the survivor slashing at one of Harken's men. Harken fumbles for his gun, but he knocks it away and lunges at him. Mal grabs the man's throat and tries to pull him back. Harken finally gets a good look at his face. The flesh has been peeled back and his face is set in a permanent grimace, held together by pieces of metal. He begins to snarl and snap at his face before Mal finally cracks his neck and let's the body fall. They share a look and Harken slowly shuffles off to his ship.

As they detach from the Alliance cruiser River lets out a sigh of relief and Jayne chuckles at her.

"You save his gorram life. An he still takes the cargo. Hwoon dahn." Jayne spits

"Had to. Couldn't let us profit" Mal shrugs "Wouldn't be civilized."

Jayne turns to River and smiles at her.

"How ya doin' Riv?" He says following her down to the common area. She sits down on the couch obviously exhausted from the day. Jayne plops down next to her with a smirk.

"I'm extremely tired." She laughs. "It's tough work hiding from the Alliance."

"I imagine." He smirks. "So what were you mad 'bout earlier?"

She looked over to him. He had a goofy grin on his face and his eyes seemed to hold some concern for how she was doing and in that moment she knew he didn't care for Kaylee like he cared for her.

"you know what." She smiled at him sweetly. "It doesn't even matter."

**You know the routine by now. Constructive criticism is always welcome and review, review, review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I want to thank everyone who had started following this story or who has reviewed. I really appreciate it and it really helps me to put chapters out faster. I do not own anything and no money was made from this.**

_Why the hell couldn't you just go out with the others?_ River thought to herself. _Why did you have to be so stubborn?_ Sometimes River wondered if she really was a genius. She had decided to watch a scary movie, alone, at night, in the dark. Everyone else was at the bar, with the exception of Shepherd who was visiting old friends. River wanted to go out with everyone else, but the idea of watching Jayne hitting on other women or possibly paying for a whore was not something she wanted to even think about. So she opted to stay on the ship. She sat curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap stuffing her face and mindlessly watching the movie. The killer was chasing the girl up the stairs, which she felt was stupid because why the hell run up the stairs when you should be running out of the house, when she thought she heard a loud noise on the ship.

"H-hello?" She called out weakly taking refuge under her blanket. No answer. She shrugged and returned her attention back to the movie. Just as the girl thought she was safe lightening flashed revealing not only the person behind her, but whoever was standing in the doorway across from River. She screamed out throwing the bowl of popcorn out of her lap and tossing the cortex remote at the person's head as she fell to the floor.

"OW!" _oh. It's Jayne._ "What the hell Riv?

"I am so sorry Jayne. You have horrible timing." She gave him her best puppy dog look when she saw him rubbing his forehead.

"What the hell are you doing? Why is there popcorn everywhere? Why the hell did you throw a remote at my head?" He threw rapid fire questions at her making her feel worse.

"I was watching a scary movie and well the lightening flashed right as you walked in here. I couldn't see who you were and well I threw the remote at your head. I must have knocked the popcorn to the ground when I jumped." She said dropping to the ground to begin picking up the popcorn.

"You're watching a scary movie in the dark while you're alone on the ship?" She nodded. "I thought you were some type of genius." She took a throw pillow and chucked it at him. He dodged it laughing and then dropped to the ground to help with the clean up. "So what cha watchin'?"

"Some movie from earth-that-was. Called Halloween." She shrugged throwing the remaining popcorn into the bowl and heading towards the mess to make another bowl. Jayne followed trying his best not to stare at her ass, he failed. He hated being stuck on this boat having to want her everyday and knowing he couldn't have her. It drove him crazy most days, but he felt it was best to remain her friend. "So what are you doing back so soon, thought you had a date?" She smirked at the prospect that he hadn't actually slept with someone.

"Yea well didn't need that much time." He shrugged and sat down at the table waiting for her to finish the popcorn. "Don't exactly have to wine and dine the ones ya pay." He didn't notice her wince.

"Ah I was wondering if you were going with a painted lady or a townie, guess I got my answer." She tried to force the bile back down her throat. She waited a minute for her face to stop feeling so warm before she turned around and dumped the popcorn in to now empty bowl. "Alright well I've missed the quite a bit of the movie, so I'm just going to start another one. Guess I'll see you in the morning." She made her way back to the common area. "Night Jayne."

"Wait!" Jayne called out. She turned, but remained silent. "Mind If I watch a movie with ya?"

"Not at all." She grinned and then continued to the couch. She slowly went through the list of available movies and picked another scary movie, this one about zombies. She hunkered down in her normal spot with the popcorn bowl in her lap and waited for the movie to start.

It didn't feel strange when Jayne sat down right next to her; he usually did no matter where they were. It was comforting, having someone protect her from non existent monsters. She wondered what he would do if she leaned into his side. She didn't have to wait long to find out, shortly after placing the bowl on the table a zombie ran onto the screen and tore a huge chunk out of one of the women's faces. She immediately turned into his side hiding her face from the carnage that was occurring on screen. He automatically wrapped an arm around her and chuckled. As the screaming continued she pushed further into him and noticed something very strange. He smelled like earth, sweat, and gun oil, but no perfume. She had heard the conversation between Jayne and the other women that night. She knew he didn't sleep with the whore and she had merely sat on his lap. If he came home stinking of perfume when she had only sat on his lap why, when he was claiming sleeping with one, did he not reek of perfume? She turned her face up to look at him and was met by his bright blue eyes. He wasn't watching the movie but smiling down at her. They sat like that for a moment before the lights flicked on and they jumped apart to opposite ends of the couch, both looking incredibly guilty. They looked up to see Zoe and Mal staring at them unsure of what to do.

"Well I am going to bed, goodnight all." River said quickly before ducking out of the room. Jayne in a similarly quick fashion took off towards his bunk without another word.

"Sir, what did we just walk into?" Zoe turned to look at Mal.

"Don't know, don't wanna know." He waved off the question and walked to his bunk.

River was wary of stepping foot onto Persephone. Atherton could be anywhere, but Inara came to the rescue and booked with Atherton so he would be distracted while they dealt with Badger. River knew that she couldn't run forever and that at some point she would have to be on Persephone, but it still made her nervous. She did her best to remain calm as she felt Serenity settle down in Eavesdown docks. She was sitting on the bridge watching as Wash expertly bring the ship down. He noticed her frowning and gave her a quick smile to reassure her it was going to be okay.

"Alright little one." Mal smirked walking onto the bridge "Ready for some more schoolin'?" She nodded and walked silently to the cargo bay. "What's wrong with her?" Mal turned his attention to Wash.

"Think she's worried."

"Well Inara already has Atherton covered. She's in no danger from him." Wash rolled his eyes at the Captain's lack of understanding

"I don't think it's herself she's worried about."

River didn't expect much from Badger from Mal's attitude. His hideout was dingy and made her recoil in disgust. She was afraid that if she touched anything she might contract some rare illness and die on the spot, all in all this was the best thing to get her mind off of Atherton who may or may not have been lurking anywhere. He was sitting in a chair at a desk surrounded by men with rather large guns. He looked like the slime ball that Mal and Zoe thought he was. As his eyes looked over the group slowly he seemed the most put off by Jayne, but who wouldn't be. Jayne was a wall of muscle loaded down with his favorite weapons.

"'Ello Mal Zoe." He then turned his attention to Jayne and River who were standing behind them silently. "Who are ya new friends?" His eyes didn't move from River.

"Jayne and River." Mal motioned. He wouldn't tell anyone that River was his daughter, not after everything that happened with Niska. Jayne grunted a hello, but River remained Silent.

"What's your story love? Ya got a secret?" He eyed her up and down and River repressed the urge to vomit.

"Sure, I've got a secret. More than one." She glared. "Doesn't seem likely I'd tell them to you now, does it?" She sees the pin on his jacket and then runs a finger down his lapel pulling off some fuzz and then looking back at him. "You know there are dozens like you around here. Left home early, running graft jobs here and there. Spent some time in lock down, but less than you claim. And you're what? Petty thief with delusions of standing? Sad, little king of a sad, little hill." Jayne smirked at River's ability to call Badger out on the bull shit. Jayne didn't know Badger personally, but like River said everyone knew someone like him. Badger looked at Mal and then back to River with a smirk on his face.

"I like her." He said turning back to sit at his dirty desk. Jayne who had been amused by the whole situation elbowed her slightly and then winked at her causing her to giggle quietly. As they stood their quietly listening to Badger's plan for transporting cattle secretly off planet. Mal talked him down to a decent pay and then Badger once again turned his eyes on River.

"Alright Badger we'll be seein' ya." Mal quickly stood up and began to walk towards the exit, but was stopped when Badger cleared his spoke and called out again.

"Now Mal I got some other business I want ta discuss." He leered at River. She recoiled in disgust.

"No I don't believe we do."

"Seems ya 'ave something I want. This girlie 'ere ain't a companion. Ya can't afford to keep one full time which means that ya went and bought yaself a li'l slave girl. 'Ow much for the right bit of pretty?" He continued his gaze.

"River? She's a person Badger she ain't for sale." Mal rolled his eyes.

"Couldn't 'ave been wif her fer too long ain't seen 'er before. Lessin' ya been keepin' 'er on the ship." He looked her up and down. "I can see why ya might be doin' that." He laughed. Jayne growled and pulled her closer to him. He tried to pull her to the exit, but was stopped by two of Badger's men.

"Ah." Badger smirked turning his attention to Jayne who had pushed River behind him. "I see I've been talking to the wrong man. Ya been tumblin' wif the bit o' pretty?" Jayne glared.

"She ain't fer sale." Jayne glared. "She ain't my girl either, she's crew."

"Well then I may jus' ask her then, 'ow 'bout it love ya wanna stay wif' me?" He grinned at her and river again pushed away the feeling that she needed to vomit.

"About as much as I want to be shot in the stomach." She rolled her eyes. "Now get out of my way." She glared at the two gunmen standing in her way. They looked to Badger for an answer and then let her through the door. Jayne continued to glare daggers at Badger as Zoe and Mal made their way cautiously out the door. As Jayne was just walking out her heard Badger call.

"Next time ya wan' ta make a deal Reynolds jus' send tha girl." Jayne fought the idea of going back in there and shooting badger right in the crotch. He was seriously considering it until he felt a warm sensation on his hand. He looked down to see a tiny white hand wrapped around his. When he looked to see who it was he was met by the deep understanding and concern that was showing in River's chocolate brown orbs. She gave him a weak smile as she squeezed his hand and then let go to follow Mal. Mal and Zoe didn't want to admit it, but they were just as concerned about Badger's pass at River as Jayne was. Badger wasn't the type to just let things go. If he wanted something he had no problem taking it and River was something he definitely wanted.

They all calmed down when the finally reached Serenity. River seemed the most comfortable with what just happened as she sat down at the end of the ramp and watched the people. Jayne, not wanting to leave her alone for even a second, sat down next to her. She smiled at him sweetly and then turned her attention back to the crowd that seemed endless. The silence seemed to last forever as Jayne thought over a list of things he needed to get from the market before they left, ammo being the top thing. He knew Mal had to go to that stupid dance soon and he knew that once that happened he wouldn't want to leave River unattended, not that Zoe wouldn't keep a good eye on her it's just he would rather her be with someone who was going to watch her constantly until they were off this stupid planet. He gave a loud sigh and then allowed his mind to go blank.

"Are you okay Jayne?" River smirked

"Fine. Just thinking about what I have to buy from the market."

"Well go buy it. I'll be okay. I won't let the big bad criminal take me anywhere Jayne. I have proven time and again I can handle myself." She rolled her eyes.

"I just don't think its right."

"Well Captain is going to be leaving soon and you know once he's on the job he won't want you leaving the ship."

"Alright." He gave in. She made sense, but it still made him uncomfortable.

"I promise I will not leave the ship unattended. Waiting for a package from my uncle anyways." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Didn't know he was sendin' ya one." He had never met her uncle; he had seen him once when he dropped her off, but even then he really didn't get a good look at him. He knew that he was probably nothing like River, hell there was no one like River.

"Yea some medical information about my mother." She said breaking his train of thought.

"Ah well good luck with that." He waved as he strode off into the crowd. She watched him walk off and disappear into the crowd. He was such a mystery some days. She sighed and then noticed several flowers that were stubborn enough to grow in the unforgiving soil down near the docks. She walked down the ramp to get a better look at them. They were small and purple and they reminded her of the flowers that grew along the estate back home. As she became lost in her thoughts she felt someone grab her shoulder gently. She turned around to see a familiar face smiling at her.

"Package for you ma'am" he said politely as she let out a loud screech.

Mal had been sitting in the mess talking over the job with Kaylee. She was just excited to go to the dance with Mal and get to put on in a pretty dress. Mal rolled his eyes every time he had to start over because she started day dreaming again, which was a lot. He was just about to go over it one last time before giving up when he heard River's loud shriek through the ship. He immediately drew his gun and ran towards the cargo bay thinking that Badger had come for her. Zoe and Wash were in their bunk sleeping and Mal figured that they didn't hear her screaming as he passed by their shut bunk door. He felt a little better when he heard Kaylee's feet trying their best to keep up with his. While she wasn't much in a gun fight she could at least help get River to safety. As they reached the cargo bay Mal sighed with relief as he saw River hanging onto Simon for dear life. She had knocked him over onto the dirt and had refused to let go. Simon seemed to feel the same as her as he was not letting go of her either.

"What in the hell is goin' on here?" Mal yelled causing River and Simon to both separate and stand up finally. River didn't seem to care about the dirt on her while Simon, spotting Kaylee, began to furiously wipe the dirt off himself.

"It's Simon." River clapped.

"I can see that." He made his way down the steps almost falling over as Kaylee, who refused to take her eyes off the new person standing there, kept trying to run him over. "What I don't understand is why your yellin' on my ship lit'l one."

"Sorry" She said giving him her best puppy dog eyes. "I just got excited."

"Well I'll excuse it this one time." He grinned. "Simon I would love to know why you're here, but I have a job to get done tonight and I just need to know one thing. Is River currently in any more danger than she was yesterday?" He turned to Simon waiting for an answer.

"No."

"Well than I suppose we should all get acquainted?" River smiled "Simon you already know Mal and this is Kaylee, our mechanic. She's absolutely brilliant."

"I don' know 'bout all that River." Kaylee blushed. "Hi I'm jus' pleased as punch ta meet ya." She said to Simon extending her hand. He took it lightly and kissed it causing Kaylee to turn a deep red.

"Wonderful to meet you Kaylee. My sister has told me so much about you." He couldn't take his eyes away from the beautiful woman who stood before him. Anyone else would have noticed the grease marks or the dark circles from lack of sleep, but all Simon saw was her chipper smile and the light happiness that seemed to shine out from her eyes.

"Well who needs a beer?" River grinned while Simon's jaw dropped suddenly. "I think I still have some in the mess."

"River you're drinking?!"

"Well I couldn't stay a little girl forever Simon." She frowned "They're half Jayne's anyways." She shrugged.

"Have to have a little chat with Jayne 'bout giving you alcohol constantly." Mal rolled his eyes.

"Ah the infamous Jayne." Simon said recognizing the name from when he spoke to River. "When will I be meeting your new friend? Can't say I'm too thrilled hearing that she is teaching you bad habits like drinking, but I'm glad you have friends."

"Simon have you ever met Jayne?" Mal said taken aback when Simon said her. He knew that River had spoken to him about Jayne so he was unsure as to why he thought Jayne was a girl. River was too busy to say anything as she tried to hold back laughter.

Jayne was doing his best to make it back to the ship quickly. He wanted to be there for River when she found out about her mother. If it was something bad then he would be there to comfort her if it was something good he would be there to share in her excitement. He stopped for just a moment when something caught his eye at a shop. The glint of metal in the sun light was always distracting, but today what he saw made him think of River and that day she saved his life back at the bar. He quickly paid for the items and took off back towards Serenity. What he saw when he got there made him almost sick. Mal and Kaylee standing there smiling as River had her arms draped around some core guy. His blood boiled as he stormed up towards the group.

"Doc have you ever met Jayne?" He heard Mal ask this new guy who seemed so comfortable around River. Around _his _River, not that he'd ever say that to her.

"Well no and I can't say I'm too thrilled that River is drinking with a new friend, but I'm sure Jayne is a wonderful young…" Simon was cut off by River's loud squeal.

"JAYNE!" She laughed running and meeting Jayne a few hundred feet away from the ship. Simon watched as he threw her over his shoulder.

"…man." Simon's face fell "Jayne is a man. Figures." Simon continued to frown as he took in the very intimidating form heading towards him. He was tall, tan, and a solid wall of muscle. Exactly the kind of man that wouldn't have been allowed within ten feet of her back on Osiris now carried her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Jayne stopped just short of entering the ship as he took in Simon slowly.

"Everything okay Cap'in?" Jayne eyed Simon while River giggle, her face pointing to the ground while her hips rested comfortably on his shoulder.

"Shiny." Mal nodded. "Jayne this is River's Uncle Simon."

"Hey." Jayne called over his shoulder as he then made his way into the ship carrying River.

"Bye Simon." River laughed as she waved and Simon watched as she slowly disappeared into the ship. Kaylee stood there for a moment before deciding she should probably let Mal and Simon discuss things. Mal laughed at Simon who was standing there mouth hanging open unable to come up with any words.

"It's gonna be okay doc." Mal grinned "Jayne ain't that bad of an influence."

"So Jayne and River are…?" He didn't even want to finish the question.

"Best friend. Inseparable." Mal tried his best to calm Simon down.

"And they're not… you know…sleeping together?" Simon and Mal both winced and continued to stare in the direction that Jayne and River had walked off.

"No." Mal yelled quickly.

"NO JAYNE I SAID TAKE ME TO MY BUNK NOT YOURS!" they heard River giggle from inside the ship.

"Course no one tells me a gorram thing on my ship!" Mal said sternly as they both walked into Serenity, Simon's mouth was still hanging open in horror. "thought she told ya 'bout Jayne. Didn't she mention that he was a man?"

"Probably, but she started whining and I didn't have any tolerance for that when she was a child so I certainly don't have any now. I sort of tuned her out." Simon shrugged causing Mal to laugh.

River couldn't stop giggling when Jayne threw her down on her bed. He had the mischievous smirk on his face that she loved so much, but what she couldn't figure out was why. He chuckled as he sat down next to her and then he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to River. She gave him a strange look before slowly opening the bag and finding a set of throwing knives with a bright red ribbon weaved through the handles. She smiled down at her gift and then gave Jayne a questioning look.

"Saw 'em at the market on my way back." He shrugged. "Ah. Hell figured I haven't gotten ya nothin' fer savin' my life that time."

"Well thank you Jayne." She hugged him tightly. As she pulled back to look at Jayne and give him another smile she paused less than an inch away from his face. Her breath hitched in her throat and her heart began to pound so loudly that she was sure he would hear, but as she finally looked at his face she noticed that his eyes were locked on her lips. She felt her heart nearly stop as the slowly inched their lips closer together until she could feel his warm breath just against her lips.

BAM

They both jumped across the bed separating themselves as Simon slammed open her bedroom door. Neither could make eye contact as Simon glared between the two of them. They sat there in the most awkward silence River had ever endured, and she had once walked in on her grandfather and a companion, until Jayne finally left with his head down. Simon remained quiet as he watched him go and then he turned his attention back to River.

"You are such a boob!" She yelled pushing him out the door and then locking it. He fell on his butt and looked to Mal who had been standing there just outside her door.

"What the just happened?" He asked

"You'll find yourself asking that question a lot." Mal smirked "C'mon let's go get something to drink."

"Alright hold on." Turning back to River's door "River I'm going to leave the files just outside your door okay…" She didn't answer.

"C'mon Doc. You're going to need a lot of drinks." Mal laughed.

Mal and Kaylee had gone to the high society social. River smirked at Kaylee's dress, but didn't tell her exactly what she thought of it. She looked like a cupcake, a really pink cupcake. She hadn't seen Jayne since her brother had so rudely interrupted their almost kiss. It was for the best anyway, she couldn't risk getting close to Jayne. She couldn't put Jayne in that much danger. She heaved a sigh and picked up her portable cortex and headed down to the empty cargo bay.

Book came upon her first as she danced and jumped around. She looked graceful and light as she moved. Simon, Zoe and Wash all watched with smiles as they watched her slowly come to a stop as the music did. She smiled as a new song came on. It was fast and upbeat and she quickly grabbed Book and began to dance around laughing as Wash clapped to the beat. With a grin Simon bowed to Zoe who nodded with a slight smile as she took his hand and began to dance with him. That was the scene that Jayne came into a few minutes later. Wash clapping like a fool, River and Book dancing happily and poor Simon stumbling as he tried to keep up with Zoe, who was actually a decent dancer. Book was beginning to get winded and he whispered to River that he was going to need to stop. She smiled and nodded as she made her way over to Wash who began to panic.

"River that is not a wise idea." Wash said waving his hands trying to ward her off.

"Okay." She shrugged and sat down next to him as they watched Simon make an ass of himself. Jayne thought for a moment before slowly walking to her and offering her his hand.

"River, I- I'll dance wit' ya." He stammered. She smiled at him sweetly and the too began to dance happily across the cargo bay, making Zoe and Simon look like a couple of bumbling fools. Half way through the dance they heard something banging on the air-lock door. She saw Badger staring there with a stupid smile on his face.

" 'ello love. Your Captain's gone and got hisself in trouble." He pushed his way through the door and stood in the cargo bay looking around the ship.

"A duel?" Book was astonished.

"With swords?" _who does that anymore_ thought Wash.

"The Captain's a good fighter. He must know how to handle a sword?" River watched how she spoke about Mal, mindful of the company who was smiling at her like she was as shiny new toy. Book and Wash look at Zoe hopefully.

"I think he knows which end to hold" She sighed pinching the bridge of her nose.

"We need to figure out how to get him out of there." Simon added. Trying to be helpful as always, failing as always.

"we have until the morning correct?" Book asked turning to Badger "Do you know what lodging he's in?"

"Oh, this is embarrassing." He chuckled. "Some of you seem to be misapprehending my purpose in being here."

"You're here to make sure we don't do what these men are keen on doing." Zoe said finally getting the picture.

"That and I had to get to know lit'l miss some more." He said smiling at River. Jayne almost went after him when he put a hand on River's arm, but was held back by Zoe and Book. River turned and smiled at him, placing a hand on each of his shoulders and then quickly kneed him in the groin. As he fell to the ground River dropped down, crouching next to him and placed two fingers under his chin turning his face up towards hers.

"Next time you put your hands on me I will knee your boys, meaning both left and right, so hard they turn back into ovaries." She said never breaking her calm demeanor "Dong ma?" She smiled. Zoe smiled at the girls guts while both Simon and Wash were both feeling Badger's pain. Jayne crossed with his gun maintained on Badger. He quickly cocked it and was about to issue another threat when Zoe stopped him.

"Jayne I wouldn't" Zoe placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why not?" He looked at Zoe who motioned with her head towards the door where four of Badger's men were holding an always smiling Kaylee hostage.

"Hi." She waved at them and both Jayne and River looked at each other and rolled their eyes taking a seat on the floor.

Zoe, Wash and Jayne were sitting there pretending play cards as they came up with a plan. Simon, knowing he wasn't going to be any help coming up with a plan, was trying to nap with his head on his knee. Book sat there quietly reading his bible listening carefully to the rest of the group. River was laying therewith her head on Jayne's lap while Kaylee was painting her toenails a bright red. Badger sat there watching River as he finished off a sandwich.

"…but he said not to do anything. He'll join us after he wins the duel." Kaylee said wiping away some rogue polish on one of River's toes.

"And what if he don't win?" Jayne asked trying to keep his voice low.

"It doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan, Kaylee." Zoe hated to agree with Jayne, but she had to admit he was right. Kaylee shrugged and returned to he work unsure if this was the right plan of action.

"I'm thinking; since we're all unarmed, we should take them by surprise all at once." Wash whispered throwing down a card he hadn't even bothered looking at.

"Not necessarily," Zoe looked back at her cards. " We could lure one or two of 'em away ,say, to the infirmary, take 'em out , be on Badger 'fore he knows what happened."

"Only if his attention's elsewhere. We need a diversion." He smirked at his thought. "I say River gets nekkid." He laughed sending her a wink as she glared up at him from his lap.

"Nope." Simon said not even raising his head.

"I could get nekkid." He leered down at her.

"No!" Everyone, but River said. Simon, realizing he hadn't heard his niece's voice looked up in a panic.

"River?!" He almost shrieked.

"I'm thinking…" She giggled as she looked up at Jayne who was raising an eyebrow at her. "No that will never work Jayne." He shrugged and looked back to the game.

"Yer loss." He said causing her to giggle even louder. Her laughter got Badger's attention and he slowly crossed the floor as he spoke.

"River luv, ya gonna give a real bloke a chance?" He grinned at he as she tilted her head back while leaving it in Jayne's lap.

"I have no idea what your talking about?" She said sounding bored.

"Well ya ever gonna leave Jayne and give a real bloke a chance?"

"Well, Book can't marry, Wash is already married, and Simon is my Uncle… OH!" She laughed as she toyed with him. "You mean you. I was unaware you were a man. I thought Badger's were mustelid." She looked at him and noticed his confusion. She sighed "You know kind of like a ferret." Badger went red as everyone started to stifle their laughter. Jayne high fived her as Badger turned to go sit back down with his men.

It was a few hours later and everyone was trying to get the plan down. Wash is doing his best to fill Book and Simon in on the plan while Kaylee and Zoe stand by waiting. River and Jayne were sitting there drinking coffee.

"Wash is filling Simon and Book in on the plan. We move on Zoe's signal. Doc's the diversion-" He started to whisper to River, but was cut off by someone yelling across the ship.

"Did you ever see such a lazy crew?" They all stop what they're doing and turn to see Mal practically being carried in by Inara. He was holding a wound on his side that was worrying River.

"Captain!" Kaylee and River shrieked as they ran towards him. Everyone else followed slowly.

"You get us a deal?" Badger asked standing up and slowly crossing towards Mal.

"Back off, He's injured." Zoe said through her teeth.

"I got a deal, Now get off my ship." Badger nodded to the group and then looked at River with a grin.

"Well lovely as always River." She faked a gag.

"This is only the second time we've met." She rolled her eyes. "Hopefully it will also be our last."

As Badger made his way out of the ship Jayne nudged River with his shoulder playfully causing her to laugh and earning a glare from Simon and Mal. She motioned for him to squat down and when he did she jumped on his back. He laughed and then wrapped his arms around her legs so she wouldn't fall before standing up.

"Are you badly hurt?" Book said looking to Simon for help with him.

"We was just about to spring into action, Captain. " Jayne smiled

"A complicated escape and rescue op." River finished his sentence which caused Mal and Simon to become very uncomfortable.

"I was gonna watch. It was very exciting." Wash said trying to break the tension in the room.

The next morning everyone filed in slowly, still worn out from yesterday's events. River cooked up some decent smelling protein. She was the only one still in pajamas, but that was a normal morning. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her black tank top was covered in food, which annoyed her, but she wouldn't say anything. Her pajama pants were slung low on her hips revealing just a sliver of her pale stomach. As she walked to the table and began serve out the food Kaylee took notice of the bright blue pajama pants and began to fawn over them.

"Oh River!" She said taking a bite of her food. "Where did ya get them pants?"

"Stole them from Jayne." She smirked causing Mal and Simon to spit out their food as Jayne looked up and realized that she was indeed wearing a pair of his pajamas.

"Hey I want those back!" He said pretending to be upset.

"Don't throw your clothing in with mine when it needs to be washed and I won't steal it." She shrugged as she moved back to her seat next to him. As Simon was watching her walk he noticed a small sliver of black against her pale skin.

"River?" Simon said shakily " what is that?"

"Nothing." She quickly sat down next to Jayne.

"RIVER SHADOW TAM! IS THAT A TATTOO!"

"MY LAST NAME IS REYNOLDS!" She yelled back causing Simon to quickly shut his mouth. "And yes. It is a tattoo."

"Why?" he couldn't wrap his head around River having a tattoo and he almost lost what little breakfast he had eaten when Jayne tried to pull down the front corner of her pants with a finger to get a better look at the offending mark. She quickly smacked his hand away to his relief.

"Because I wanted one. I am an adult Simon deal with it." She stuck her tongue out at him and took a bit of food.

"Well what does it say River?" Kaylee asked excitedly .

"It's Jayne's name." She said with a completely straight face. Mal and Simon both sputtered. The both stopped breathing until she started laughing. "Breath you two it says Serenity." This got Kaylee and Zoe in on the laughter and the meal slowly went back to normal. AS the conversations slowly lulled Jayne finally spoke up as he cleared his throat.

"So Riv." She smiled when she saw the mischievous look in his eyes. "Ya gonna show me that tattoo?"

"JAYNE!" Simon and Mal yelled in unison causing everyone to laugh again.

**Read and review. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. The more you review the fast I update so review, review, review.**

** i/blood-rope-wear-heart-throwing-knives-f25-513812488 (These are the knives that Jayne bought for River)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed. They really helped move this process along. I also want to thank those of you who have started to follow this story. I really appreciate it. Thank you again everyone. I do not own anything and no profit was made form this**

The Jail cell was hot, course the whole dame planet was hot it was mid summer. It was so hot that Jayne and Mal had had removed their shirts and were sitting there still sweating. Of course neither could wipe the grin off their faces. They had the sheriff wave the ship over an hour ago to see if River would come get them. They didn't know if she was coming until the catcalls and hooting from the other cells began. They both glanced at each other knowingly before throwing their shirts on and standing up. In a matter of moments they were being glared at by a very upset River. She had obviously noticed the heat because she was in a very revealing pair of denim shorts and a tight black tank top. He combat boots were strapped loosely to her feet. She glared at them and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You two idiots get into how many bar fights, smuggle illegal cargo and then get arrested for public intoxication?" She smirked at them.

"Alright… let us out. It's hot in here. No air flow." Mal said fanning himself. Just as the sheriff went to unlock the door she stopped him.

"Hold on there sheriff. It seems that the odds are slightly in my favor here." She grinned.

"What?!" Mal screeched.

"Well it seems you two need a babysitter when you leave the ship." She laughed. "I will not be left on the ship when there's a job ever again."

"No way. Sometimes jobs are just too dangerous!" Jayne hollered.

"Fine rot in here. I'm gonna enjoy my new ship." She turned to walk away but stopped when she heard them cry out.

"Fine." Mal spat "You can start coming on every job."

"Okay good." She nodded "You may release them."

Neither Jayne nor Mal looked very happy as they slowly made their way back to Serenity. Part of it could be attributed to having to be rescued by River, but mostly it was the looks she was getting from the local men. The leered at her like she was a piece of meat and while it made Mal uncomfortable it upset Jayne something fierce. She began to take notice of their silence and as Serenity came into sight she finally turned and glared at the two.

"Is something wrong?" She spat. Mal simply raised his hands and shook his head, but Jayne took a deep breath as he was beginning to start his rant. Mal beat a hasty retreat not wanting to be anywhere near the two when they started fighting.

"Yea as a matter of fact somethin' is wrong." She continued her glare knowing exactly where this was going. "Ya couldn't have put more clothes on before ya left?"

"I'm sorry I was unaware I was a child." She crossed her arms over her chest. "If you haven't noticed it's incredibly hot out here."

"Oh yea I noticed you're not a child! The whole damn town can see you're not a child!" He yelled. By now the whole town was watching their argument.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She raised an eyebrow. Jayne was so angry he didn't notice how upset she was.

"It means that you're dressed up like some ji nu!" She gasped and before he knew it his eye hurt and he had fallen backwards right on his ass. River was cursing as she began her walk back to the ship alone. Jayne was so flabbergasted that he sat there for a moment watching her as the town returned to their business.

As Jayne stormed back onto Serenity holding his eye he heard Kaylee yelling at Simon. He was becoming an expert at putting his foot in his mouth. This was not any of Jayne's concern at the moment. He was far more concerned with the fiery who had just given him a black eye. He made his way to his bunk to retrieve the letter from his ma and then he made his way to River's room. He passed by Zoe just outside her door and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What happened to your eye?" She whispered knowing who had hit him in the eye she was just unsure as to why.

"I… uh insulted the way she dressed today." He shrugged.

"How?" She said narrowing her eyes at him

"I may have told her she was dressed like a prostitute." He didn't want to meet Zoe's accusing eyes. She was down right scary when she wanted to be.

"May have?!" he heard River screech from behind her door. Of course she was listening.

"Alright!" He yelled at her. "I did!" Zoe smiled at the pair arguing through the door and moved along, much like Mal she knew to keep her distance from the two when they were mad at each other.

"River can I come in?" he begged. Not that he'd admit to dong it, but he was in fact begging.

"No!" She spat.

"Please? I need your help with something." He begged again.

"What could possibly help you with?" Jayne knew there was going to be a lot of begging if he wanted her help.

"Look I need help writing my Ma." He pleaded. It was silent for a moment and then he heard the door unlock. He opened it slowly, just in case she got the notion to punch him again. She was calmly sitting on her bed waiting for the groveling to begin. "Look I just need your help to write my ma and then I'll leave ya alone." He said handing her the letter.

"Why don't you just send her a wave?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"My ma has a machine, but waves are expensive and Mal don't like 'em to be sent from the ship." He shrugged. "Been writin' her letters fer awhile now. My spellin' ain't that great though."

"Didn't you finish school?" She asked.

"Nah." He shook his head. "Had some issues with the other kids."

"You beat a lot of them up huh?" She grinned. He was glad to see she wasn't that upset.

"No didn't hang out with the boys too much, they were afraid of me." He said. "Made friends with a lot of the girls."

"Oh and I'm sure that was just traumatizing." She rolled her eyes.

"Well it worked out just fine, but I was never too good at book learnin'" She rolled her eyes at his grammar. "So I dropped out my last year when the girls finally turned on me."

"They turned on you?"

"Well they made fun of me called me stupid, you know stupid kid stuff." He shrugged.

"Those bitches!" She grinned.

"Yea well can ya help me?"

"I'll do you one better. I have an account I set up under a false name from when I was still waving Simon. It still has some money in there. If you want to wave her you can use that." She grinned. He paused for a moment totally taken aback by her generosity and then he crossed the room in a single step wrapping his arms around her while she laughed at him.

"Are ya sure?" He asked setting her down carefully.

"Yea go ahead." She nodded. "Do you want me to write down the access codes?"

"No iffen' ya don't mind I'll just wave her here." She nodded her approval and made her way to the door.

"Where ya goin'?" He looked confused

"I was going to give you some privacy." She smiled. "Talking to your mother is probably a private thing."

"I ain't seen my ma in two years. She's gonna want to meet the girl responsible for me sendin' her a wave." She nodded and sat down at the end of her bed where she would not be seen.

It was silent as Jayne punched in the access codes she gave him and the waiting game began. He wondered if his ma was even home. She could be out shopping or at the doctor with Mattie. It was a toss up. He was surprised when she answered. She was silent for a moment her mouth hanging open in surprise until she let out an excited yell.

"JAYNE!" She screamed. "I ain't seen hide nor hair of ya fer three years and now yer sendin' me a wave. You ain't in trouble are ya?" River laughed at how she scolded him. It didn't make any difference that he was an adult or that he wasn't even on the same world, he was still her son and that gave her all the power in the 'verse to scold him.

"Hi ma." He smiled.

"I didn't recognize the number yer wavin' from. Whose access codes did ya steal?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "And who gave ya that black eye?"

"Same person." He smirked "And I didn't steal 'em. She gave me 'em to me."

"Hmm. This wouldn't happen to be that girl you told me about would it?" River looked at Jayne who was refusing to look at her. "Now what was her name…?" His ma began to think

"River, ma, her name is River." He sighed.

"Yea that's it. River." He waited for the question he knew was going to come. "So… am I gonna get to meet this girl or am I gonna have to just think about what she looks like." Before Jayne could say anything River sat down right next to him.

"HI Mrs. Cobb!" She said with a huge grin plastered on her face. "My name is River. It's so nice to meet you."

"Well aren't you just a proper young lady." She smiled. River was confused when she finally got a good look at Jayne's mother. She was young, to say the least, couldn't have been more than 18 years older than Jayne and she was absolutely beautiful. She had long dark hair and milky white skin and that was a dead give away as to where Jayne's mother was from. "Where are ya from sweetheart?" Her question shook River from her train of thought.

"I'm from Osiris." She smiled. She knew it would be rude to ask, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"If you don't mind me asking…" River started but got an elbow in the side from Jayne. "Ow!" She whispered.

"You're wantin' to know where I'm from." She smiled at her. "My accent and my features don't match."

"Well I was going to, but your son just elbowed me." She said elbowing him back.

"Jayne Cobb!" his mother yelled. "Keep your hands to yourself." Jayne looked down at the ground. "I don't mind. Just not use to people not knowin' I'm originally from Lodinium." She smiled.

"How did you end up on the rim?" River was so confused.

"Well that's what happens when you fall in love with someone robbin' yer father's house I guess." She shrugged as if this was the most common story ever told. "Maybe I'll tell ya the whole story some day 'iffen ya can get that captain of yers to stop by Highgate." She smiled at the young girl. Apparently Jayne hadn't filled her in on the whole story.

"I'll see what my father can do." She smiled at how wide the woman's eyes got.

"Shenme?"

"The captain. Malcolm Reynolds is my father." She smiled.

"Jayne… Really the Captain's daughter… Really?!" River started laughing.

"Mrs. Cobb. I don't know what you think is going on, but Jayne and I are just friends." That seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Oh… well then..." She took a deep breath. "Mattie has been just askin' 'bout you somethin' fierce." River noticed Jayne perk up at that. Who was Mattie? Girlfriend? Younger sibling?

"Well put her on." Jayne smiled.

"She just went down for a nap." Mrs. Cobb frowned. "Doctors visit really takes it outta her."

"Yea I bet. How's she doing?" He frowned.

"Same as always. Meds don't seem to be working." He nodded.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to intrude, but who's Mattie and what's wrong with her?" River said trying her best to not sound rude.

"Mattie's my little sister. She's got damp lung. Had it since she was just a little baby. She's two now." River nodded her understanding.

"Damp lung?" River asked.

"I believe they call it tuberculosis on the core planets dear." She smiled at the girl. She knew she meant no harm

"I don't understand… The antibiotics should have cleared that up after six months." River truly was confused.

"Yea well meds on the rim ain't all they're cracked up to be." Jayne shrugged.

"He's right dear. Sometimes we get meds that are past date or ain't as strong as it says it is." She turned her attention back to Jayne. River sat there in silence thinking about how she could help when she jumped up. Jayne gave her a confused look.

"I'll be right back." She said looking at him "Don't turn off the wave." She yelled darting quickly from the room.

"She sure is pretty Jayne." She smiled at him.

"Don't start ma." He groaned. "She's just a friend."

"Yea well yer letters sure say somethin' different." She smirked at her son. Sometimes she wondered just how aware her son was. She could tell how River felt about him just through a wave. It had to be even more obvious in person. She knew from the minute he started writing about her that River really meant somethin' to him. Before she could ask Jayne how he felt River ran back into the room in a tizzy.

"Mrs. Cobb I can help… With Mattie."

"Excuse me?" She stammered.

"My Uncle is a doctor. When he joined me on Serenity he brought with him a small arsenal of antibiotics. Some of which can be used to treat tuberculosis." She spat out so fast they almost didn't pick it up.

"What?" Jayne asked.

"I have four medications. Isoniazid, Rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol." She said holding up several bottles of medicine. Jayne was still confused, but a hopeful grin came over Mrs. Cobb's face. "All these medicines combined treat tuberculosis or damp lung." She grinned at Jayne as realization came over his face. "We have just enough to do the first stage of treatment. I will have Jayne send them to you with a detailed set of instructions. I will even color code them if that makes it easier." Her smiled was so big Mrs. Cobb thought her cheeks might crack. "There's two months of medicine here. I will figure out how to get the rest. Don't worry." She said.

"Sweetheart you truly are an angel." Mrs. Cobb felt tears spring to her eyes. "How soon can you get them here?

"We make landfall in about a day. I will have Jayne send it out in the express mail. Should make it to you in about a week…" River said

"I don't have the money for express. Ma it'll be there in a month." Jayne said trying to calm her down.

"Well I may have borrowed some of Simon's money…" Jayne looked at her. He knew she was lying. "Okay all of Simon's money, but he won't mind. It's going to help her get better." She smiled at the two.

"I don't think I can ever repay you fer this River." River felt her own eyes fill with tears as she saw Mrs. Cobb's tears.

"No need. You just make sure that little girl get better." She smiled. "I WILL find the rest of the medication." Mrs. Cobb nodded in understanding.

"Ma I'm gonna let ya go. I'll write okay." He was having a hard time remaining calm. Keeping his eyes going back and forth between his Ma and River.

"Nonsense. He'll wave Mrs. Cobb." River said trying to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks.

"River. You take care of my boy." Mrs. Cobb smiled at the younger girl.

"I will." She smiled. "It was wonderful to meet you Mrs. Cobb."

"And you sweetheart." River waved as the image of Mrs. Cobb cut out. It was silent in the room and River was afraid that she had offended Jayne in some way.

"Jayne… Is… everything… okay?" She stammered as she set on the bed. He shoulders were heaving and it was really starting to concern her. When he turned to look at her she saw he was crying.

"Were you serious?" He asked breathily.

"About what?" She asked. She was so confused. He looked so upset.

"About the medicine… and Mattie." He sighed. "Could she really get better?"

"Yes." The word had only just left her mouth when she felt something warm against her lips. It took her a few minutes to realize that Jayne was kissing her. His hands placed on either side of her face keeping her head right where it was. River wasn't even sure if she wanted to stop the kiss. He pulled back slowly looking in her eyes carefully.

"I can never thank you enough Rivers." He smiled and they stood there in awkward silence before they heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"River?" It was Simon. Leave it to Simon to ruin every moment.

"Yes…" She called through the door not looking away from Jayne's face.

"River… Have you read those files about your mother?"

"No Simon not yet." She sighed.

"Well let me know when you do. I want to discuss some things with you." She was just hoping that he wouldn't open the door. That would cause a lot of problems if Simon were to find her alone in the room with Jayne.

"I will Simon. I'm reading. Can you come back later?" Finally tearing her eyes away from Jayne she glared at the door.

"Alright. Well I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yes Simon. See you then." She sighed. She turned back to Jayne slowly. Simon's intrusion had made things awkward and she noticed he had taken a couple steps back from her.

"Mattie will be fine Jayne… as soon as she gets this medicine." River smiled at him.

"Thank you River." He smiled before ducking out of the room. She sighed as she threw herself onto the bed. _What was that about?_ River thought to herself. As she laid there in silence she heard a knock on her door.

"River?" She smiled. It was Wash.

"Yea?" she called out.

"Well I was gonna teach you some of the finer points of flying this wonderful ship." He grinned.

"Alright!" She bolted towards the bridge as Wash called out for her to slow down.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Jayne had kissed River. Things had gone back to normal and Jayne and River had gone back to their normal playful behavior. She was currently helping Wash settle Serenity down on some back wash moon. No docks which made it easy on River. Just as they touched down Mal walked into the bridge.

"Hey lit'l one. You seen Jayne?" She shook her head as she turned to look at him. "Well go find him. We need him for this job." She nodded and made her way towards Jayne's bunk. She heard him talking to someone so she knocked just in case he was talking to his mom.

"What do ya want?" He hollered.

"It's me." She yelled.

"Oh come on down." She heard some excitement in his voice. She thought for a moment and then slowly made her way down the ladder. When she turned she saw he was in fact having a conversation, but with a pretty little girl no more than two.

"This must be little Mattie." Jayne nodded at River's exclamation. "You are just too cute." She looked like a miniature version of Jayne; she had his bright blue eyes. Her hair, however, did not resemble Jayne's at all. It looked very similar to Mrs. Cobb's dark hair. She had the same milky skin as her as well.

"Mattie. This is River." Jayne smiled back at her. "She sent the medicine that's helping you get better."

"Wiver?" Mattie smiled.

"Hi Mattie." River smiled at her. "I don't mean to intrude Jayne, but Mal needs you. We have a job to do."

"Oh okay." He said "Mattie I gotta go okay. I'll talk to ya later." He said.

"Otay. Bye Jayne." She waved and Jayne turned it off.

"How she's doing?" River asked walking up the ladder.

"Ma says she's doing much better. She said after the first few days she started getting better." Jayne grinned. "I can't thank you enough River."

"No need." She waved him off. "Now c'mon we got a job to do."

* * *

It seemed like forever before they heard the familiar sound of another mule coming. River kept her knives hidden beneath her long skirt. Jayne said it was best for them to think she wasn't any threat to them. River couldn't lie she was nervous. Mal did have a tendency to get shot when his plans went bad and his plans always went bad. Four men piled out of the mule and were staring down the crew.

"They're sizing us up." Jayne whispered. "Not a good sign. If they start shooting. You hide dong ma?" She nodded.

"Captain Malcolm Reynolds?" The leader said looking between Jayne and Mal.

"Here." Mal stepped forward. "You got the money."

"I do, but the way I see it I can just shoot all of you." He scanned the group and his eyes met River's "Except that pretty little thing there. She can come with me." He smirked "Her and I can have some fun before I sell her to some slavers." He winked at her and a shiver ran down her spine.

"Way I see it. Things would go a lot smoother if we just do the deal the way we said." Mal said sternly.

"Might, but ya see I don't like be double crossed so better I cross you before you cross me." He raised an eyebrow at her. "So little Miss iffen you'll just be comin' with me." He motioned for River to come over.

"Over my dead body." Jayne said putting himself between River and the leader.

"That can be arranged." One of the other men smirked firing a shot at Jayne's leg. He dropped and River was fast enough to drop the man with a knife to the chest. In a matter of minutes River had dropped another man and Mal and Zoe had taken cover behind a rock. Leaving River to tend to Jayne.

"How are you?" She asked. Surveying his wound. It didn't look too bad, but she couldn't be certain until they got him back to the ship. Before he could answer the leader of the group had walked around the mule, kicked Jayne's gun away and grabbed River by the shoulders placing one of her own knives to her throat.

"Seems to me that because of you I won't be getting the cargo. You however will make a nice pay day." He kissed the side of River's head. "I'm gonna take yer little girlfriend here." He said looking at Jayne. "And I'm gonna have some fun." Jayne growled trying to get up.

"Jayne. Don't" River cried.

"And then I'm gonna sell her to some people who are gonna have their fun." He smirked.

"Jayne. It's gonna be okay." River said soothingly. "Everything is going to be okay." She said feeling her cheeks become wet. She could tell he was fighting the urge to get up and shoot the man.

"If you or your friends follow me. I will kill her." River cried out as he pushed the knife a little closer to her throat causing a trickle of blood to flow down her neck.

"Jayne it's going to be okay. Just get back to the ship." She smiled at him through her tears as the man began to drag her away. She knew this would end badly she just hoped that Jayne wouldn't be stupid.

As Jayne laid there crying out for River he heard footsteps come up beside him. He turned to see Mal and Zoe looking around for River.

"She ain't here." He yelled pulling himself up.

"What the hell do you mean she ain't here?" Mal yelled "Where the hell is she?!"

"He took her." Jayne said not meeting Mal's angry glare.

"And what you just let him?"

"NO! He had a knife to her throat. He would have killed her if I did anything." Jayne yelled. He had never been so angry. This was all his fault. He should have stopped him. He should have done something besides just lay there.

"Sir!" Zoe yelled. "This isn't helping. We need to get Jayne back to the ship. We know where they'll take her. We know who they are." Zoe tried to console both men as she started up the mule.

"We'll get her back" Mal nodded.

"Damn right we will" Jayne said with a straight face.

**Alright let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. So please read and review**


	14. Chapter 14

**I want to thank everyone for the reviews and for following this story. It really means a lot to me. I do not own anything and no profit was made.**

It had been two days since River had been taken. Whoever this man was he kept her chained to the floor in a dark dirty room. Her ankle was raw and cut open from trying to remove the shackle he had placed on it. He came in once a day to give her water, but she had not eaten since she had last been on Serenity. The first day had been the worst, he was still upset about her killing two of his men and he had taken it out on her. She had fought him and now he only came in to give her water once a day. River was doing her best to try and pull her foot out of the shackle when she heard him opening the door.

"Well good mornin' little lady. How are you feeling this today?" He smiled at her and she felt her stomach drop. If she had any food in it she would have thrown it up by now. "Now I'm goin' to make you a deal. I want that shipment from your crew. It was worth a lot of money." She glared at him. She had no plans on helping him. "If you tell me where that piece f trash is parked. I'll let you go. I won't even hurt your crew." His smile didn't meet his eyes and she knew in an instant he was lying. She turned her face towards the window and he quickly grabbed her chin and turned her face back towards him. "I'm askin' nicely doll. So please tell me." She reared back and spit in his face. He growled for a moment before backhanding her across the face. "Now I'm not askin' so nicely." He shifted closer to her. "Tell me where. Is. your. Ship!" He yelled at her as he stood up. River took advantage of his straight legs to kick his knee causing him to drop to the ground as he screamed in pain. As he rolled on the ground grasping for his knee she grabbed his foot and yanked him in her direction. She straddled his hips carefully and looked him in the eyes.

"Now I'm gonna ask nicely." She sneered. "Where! Is! The! Key!" With each new word she smacked him across the face. He didn't answer, but stared up at her with terrified eyes. "Now I'm gonna ask not so nicely." She said grounding her knee into his groin. He groaned in pain and motioned to his pocket silently. She smiled for a moment before grabbing his face on both sides and slamming it repeatedly into the concrete floor. As the blood flowed freely from his head she ripped the key form his pocket and unlocked herself.

She ducked her head outside slowly making sure there was no one out there. She was surprised to find she was not at this man's hideout, but an abandoned shack in the middle of no where. That would explain why in two days he had been the only one to bring her anything. She opened the door slowly to reveal a mule waiting there. She smiled to herself and walked out the door.

"Time to go home." She whispered to herself with a smile. She looked around the expanse of nothing that surrounded the shack. "Except I have no idea where home is." She sighed climbing into the mule and starting it up.

"Two days!" Jayne yelled as he sat up on the bridge with Mal and Wash. "Two Gorram Days!" He kicked the chair.

"Calm down Jayne" Mal said sternly

"She's been gone for two days and you're tellin' me to calm down!" He yelled.

"Yes Jayne that's exactly what I'm telling you." Mal glared at him. "You don't think I'm concerned too! We've been searching this whole planet and we haven't found her yet."

"Maybe he's already shipped her off world?" Wash asked keeping Serenity low to the ground in case they saw anything on the ground.

"No she's still here." Jayne continued to watch the ground. "When he grabbed her he mentioned the cargo. He still wants it. He's gonna use her as a bargaining chip." He growled trying not to think about what was being done to River.

It had never been so quiet up here. The air was thick with tension and poor Wash was stuck in the middle of it. Mal was upset because he felt Jayne had allowed River to be taken and Jayne was upset that Mal wasn't doing more to save her. The silence was broken when they both heard Wash's sharp in take of breath.

"What?" Mal asked.

"Look." Wash pointed to a small person walking away from a mule. What made them all uneasy was the amount of blood that was covering the person.

"That's River!" Jayne cried out. "Take us down Wash! Take us down!" He yelled running towards the cargo bay so he can be the first out to see her. He felt Serenity settle and he slammed his hand down on the switch to open the door.

"What's going on Captain?" Simon said ducking out of the passenger dorms quickly.

"I think we've found her." He said not stopping to even look at him.

"River!" Simon yelled following Mal closely.

Jayne stands there silently looking at her. Her hands and dress are covered in blood and she seems to be favoring her right foot. When he looks down at it he realizes she got cuts from some type of restraint. He turns to see Mal and Simon with the same looks on their face, horror and concern. He crosses carefully over to her.

"River?" He whispered. "River are you okay?"

"My mule ran out of gas." She said quietly "I need a ride?"

"River." His voice was barely above a whisper. "River, it's Jayne."

"Jayne…?" She didn't look up at him.

"Yea." He took another careful step towards her. She finally made eye contact and promptly dropped to the ground. He picked her up and walked her to the infirmary slowly. Simon pushed both him and Mal out to wait until he could get her cleaned.

Mal and Jayne waited patiently for Simon to walk out the infirmary doors. They just wanted some news any news and they weren't getting any which was worse. They heard the infirmary doors open and they both looked up expectantly. Simon looked tired, but calm.

"How is she doc?" Mal stood up and took a step closer.

"She's dehydrated and whoever he was he did a number on her." Simon felt his throat beginning to close. "He obviously had her chained up because her ankle is torn up where she tried to free herself." He sighed deeply. "But most of that blood wasn't hers."

"Then who's was it?" Jayne asked. He immediately felt stupid. Simon would have no clue who's blood that was.

"Not a clue, but I imagine it was the man who was holding her." Simon shrugged.

"Well we're gonna go find him and then…" Mal heaved a deep sigh. "Well I'm gonna kill him."

"I don't think that's necessary Captain." Jayne and Mal looked at Simon as if he had spoken a different language.

"The hell it ain't!" Jayne hollered. "Did you see what he did to her?"

"That isn't what I mean Jayne." Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. "I found bits of brain matter on her hands and dress." Jayne and Mal looked at each other and then back to Simon. "Who ever he is whatever he did he's dead now. I think… I think she possibly smashed his head against something hard multiple times." Simon shuddered at the thought of River hurting someone let alone killing them.

"She did what she had to Doc." Mal clapped him on the shoulder before walking into the infirmary to sit with River until she woke up. Jayne stood there for a moment thinking about River being pushed to that point and then shook his head. It didn't matter she needed him right now and he was going to be there for her.

It was three days before Simon let her leave the infirmary and remove the I.V. but she was glad to be back in her room. She wandered around the ship aimlessly looking for something to do with her time. She heard Mal giving directions to Wash.

"Nah. Gotta go to Triumph." He said patting Wash on the shoulder.

"Triumph?" Wash raised an eyebrow causing River to laugh as she walked into the room. "Oh. Hey River!" Wash smiled at her cheerily and then turned his attention back to Mal. "What's on Triumph?"

"A job." River's ears perked up. Another Job.

"Doing what?" Wash said as he began to plot the course.

"Not exactly sure yet. Gotta talk to a fella named Gommen and then we'll know." Mal shrugged and went to exit the bridge when River stopped him. "Oh no. You are not going on this job with us. Do you remember what happened last time?" River rolled her eyes at him and lifted her ankle up to show the deep cuts that were still healing.

"Yea it's gonna be kinda hard to forget." She grinned. "And if I recall correctly you would be dead if I hadn't taken out two of his men." She smirked.

"She's got a point Mal." Wash called over his shoulder.

"You stay outta this!" Mal said sternly.

"What's all the yelling up here, sir?" Zoe walked in with Jayne and looked between River and Mal.

"River here is wantin' to go on the mission." Mal looked to Zoe for some backup.

"No ruttin' way!" Jayne looked at River like she was insane.

"That's what I said."

"Sir, I don't see the harm in letting her come figure out what the job is." Zoe shrugged. Mal's mouth dropped open.

"You can't be serious?" He said turning away from River.

"I am always serious, sir." She smiled at the girl before walking back towards her bunk.

"Alright." Mal sighed. "You can come to the meeting." River squealed excitedly and hugged him. For a moment Mal forgot himself and hugged her back.

"Thanks." She pecked him on the cheek quickly before darting out of the room.

The Elder told them all about the problems they were having with several bandits. They were stealing their crops and roughing up those that didn't comply. Mal told River he didn't want her going, which in turn caused her to become upset. As she sat to the side and started pouting that she wasn't a child and could take care of herself, Zoe began telling Mal that River should come. Jayne did his best to stay out of it, but agreed that maybe River should stay on the ship. Mal couldn't help, but laugh when River punched him in the arm.

"Alright lit'l one." He grinned. "You can come." She let out another squeal and then sat there quietly while Mal and Zoe tried to come up with a plan. It was silent for a moment until River began laughing to herself. Everyone turned to see what was so funny only to be greeted by River's mischievous grin.

"I have a plan." She smiled. "Zoe do you think they'll let us borrow some clothes?"

"The settlers?" Zoe asked. River nodded. "Probably."

"Good. We'll need a dress." She turned to smile at Mal.

"Why's she smiling at me like that?"

"Think you're gonna be wearin' a dress." Jayne said smacking his knee in laughter.

"I don't know why you're laughing Jayne; He'll be your wife." River raised and eyebrow at him causing Zoe to burst out in laughter.

It was hot in the back of the wagon, but River wanted to embarrass Jayne and Mal and she didn't want to bandits to know they were there until it was too late. Zoe smirked at River as she tried to hold onto to keep from falling. They both looked at each other when they felt the wagon come to a halt. Zoe motioned for River to look out a little peep hole River had cut in the covering earlier. She could only see two men and raised two fingers to Zoe. Zoe motioned the same to her. Four bandits! That's all that had been terrorizing the town? Four people!

"Pardon me for intruding, but I believe y'all are carrying something of mine." River heard a man call out. Must be the leader.

"T' ain't your'n." She smirked at Jayne's stupid accent. He had been working on it all day and it was still awful.

"You talking words to me? You gonna mouth off after what you done? Did you think we wouldn't find out you changed your route? You're gonna give us what du due us and every damn thing else on that boat, and I think maybe you're gonna give me a little one –on-one time with the Mrs." River rolled her eyes.

"You might wanna reconsider that last part. I married me a powerful ugly creature." Zoe and River both looked at each other rolling their eyes once more. They just had to turn everything into a joke didn't they?

"How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?" That was Mal. Figures he couldn't stick to the plan and stay quiet. This is why he always got shot.

"If I could make you prettier, I would." Jayne again. Really this was getting ridiculous. River slowly made her way closer to the back of the wagon. She could just barely make out one of the bandits. He was getting a little too edgy for River's liking.

"You're not the man I met a year ago." River and Zoe both jumped to the sound of guns being drawn, but River motioned to Zoe that it must have been Mal and Jayne because the bandit in the back of the pack hadn't drawn his weapon.

"Think very hard. You been birddoggin' this township a while now, and they wouldn't mind a corpse of you. Now you could luxuriate in a nice jail cell nut if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you." River reacted as fast as she could when the bandit she was watching pulled out his rifle. She wiped out on of her knifes and sent it flying into the man's chest. She heard several more gunshots and watch in awe as Zoe flew from the back of the wagon to firing a shot. When there was no more shots being fired and the area grew quiet River popped her head out from the wagon to see Jayne and Mal grabbing the bodies and heading to where she was standing.

"hmm." She smiled at them. "Seems like my plans keep people from getting shot." She grinned causing Zoe to laugh with her.

"So we head back to the town and go find another job?" Jayne asked heaving one of the bodies into the wagon.

"Nope." River answered from where she was sitting on the front of the wagon. "They're gonna throw a party. We're the guests of honor."

It was quite the party. Simon even managed to attend although it didn't take long for him to upset Kaylee about something, so now he was sitting by himself pouting. Zoe and Wash were cuddling watching the festivities. Mal was escorting Inara around the town, flirting. Jayne and River sat on a log next to the Elder talking quietly. Everyone, with the exception of Simon, was drunk. River grinned cheekily at Jayne and pointed out Mal and Inara.

"They're not fighting." She smiled.

"Yea that's new."

"They're flirting." She nudged him trying to get him to join the conversation.

"So…?" He shrugged. "not like it's nothin' new."

"Yea, but maybe someday they'll take the next step." She watched as Mal motioned to the other dancers. Inara politely refused putting up her hands and laughing while shaking her hands. "Or not." She frowned. Jayne laughed at her before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They both turned to smile at Elder Gommen when he cleared his throat. He handed Jayne a rain stick which Jayne took with a quizzical look.

"It makes the rain come when you turn it. The rain is scarce, and comes only when needed most. And such it is with men like you." Jayne looks to the rain stick and then to Elder Gommen. River smirks at the tears in his eyes. He was so obviously drunk, but River was in no condition to judge him.

"This is the most…you, friend. You're the guy." River couldn't hold in her laughter as Jayne wrapped both arms around Elder Gommen. "I'll treasure this." He said not moving his eyes from the Elder's face.

River smiles at Mal when he sits down to join them. She watches the dancers quietly as the flames grow larger and Jayne and male grow more intoxicated. She smiles and politely refuses when a young man come up to ask her to dance.

"What's wrong lit'l one?" Mal asks nudging her politely. "Thought you liked dancin'?"

"I do, but I worry about leaving you two alone." She teased him. Mal couldn't deny it Jayne, at the very least, needed someone with him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. They're conversation stopped when a young woman came over and smiled at Mal. He nodded and shot her back a small smile as she laid a wreath upon his head. River giggles at this odd behavior, but thinks nothing of it. The woman hand Mal a bowl of wine and as soon as he drinks it she darts off into the group and begins to dance. River laughs and nudges him to join her, but Mal simply shakes his head. The group of dancers doesn't take no for an answer as a few people come and pull her, Jayne and Mal out with the group. River pays no mind to the captain and instead grins widely as Jayne wraps her up in his arms and spins her about the fire happily. She smiled to herself and thought that absolutely nothing could ruin this moment.

Zoe comes storming through the common area only to come upon a curious sight. Jayne is laying on the couch spooned behind a very tired River. She wonders if she should wake them. If she does they might be upset and embarrassed, but if she doesn't and Mal finds them like this they're going to be in a world of hurt. Against her better judgment she gently nudges River awake. River rubbed her eyes sleepily and Zoe smirked as she watched them go wide in surprise.

"This is not my room." She whispered to Zoe.

"And that's not a stuffed animal you're cuddling with either." Zoe raised an eyebrow as River rolled over to see who was behind her. She let out a surprised yelp and fell to the floor causing Jayne to wake up. He looked at her in horror and then up at Zoe.

"I didn't do anything!" He said raising his hands.

"I know Jayne. You're fine although I wouldn't let the Captain see you cuddling with his daughter like that." She smirked "he might get the wrong impression."

"YOU CAN'T PLEASE ME. YOU'VE NEVER MET ME!" they all turned to the sound of Mal yelling from the cargo bay.

"Oh… this should be good." River rolled her eyes as Jayne helped her up off the floor.

Zoe walked in first followed by Jayne and River. She immediately recognized the young woman from the night before who had placed a wreath on his head. _Oh great a stow away!_ She thought to herself. Although she couldn't really blame he for trying to get off a planet where she was going to be forced to marry someone who probably would treat her like a dog.

"Zoe, why do I have a wife?" Mal turned towards them. River slapped her forehead. This was gonna set him and Inara very far back. Something didn't sit right with River about this woman though; she had spent almost the whole night with Mal and Jayne. She definitely didn't remember him getting married.

"You got a wife?" Jayne asked like he had been left out of something. River didn't like his tone.

"What's she doing here?" River asked probably a little ruder that she should have.

"All I got was that dumb-ass stick that sounds like it's raining." Zoe turned to look at River and Jayne. Jayne was watching the young woman like a hawk and River was staring at Jayne with her mouth hanging open. _Please tell me he's not that stupid._ Zoe thought to herself. "How come you got a wife?" _Yes he really was that stupid. _ She grimaced.

"I didn't" He then turned to the woman. "We're not married."

"I'm sorry if I shame you..." The woman said quietly River really didn't like her. Jayne was watching her as if she were a piece of meat and River was really having a hard time not hitting him.

"You don't shame me!" He yelled "Zoe, get Wash down here." She smirked before walking over to the comm and turning it on.

"THIS IS ZOE. WE NEED ALL PERSONNEL IN THE CARGO BAY." River smirked at Zoe's sense of humor. Mal glared at her causing River to stop laughing. She was then forced to continue to look at Jayne who was staring at the woman again.

"All- I said Wash!" He shouted.

"Captain, everyone should have a chance to congratulate you on your day of bliss." River couldn't help it she started giggling again.

"There's no bliss!" He shouted over River's laughter. "I don't know this girl."

"Then can I know her?" Jayne asked putting his hand on her shoulder. River immediately stopped laughing and felt her face grow red. She moved to stand next to Zoe who smacked him in the hand.

"Jayne…" She tried to get him to look at River. No such luck. _Dear sweet merciful Buddha this kid is a moron!_ "Don't sully this."

"Zoe," Mal pinched the bridge of his nose and then dragged his hand down his face. A move that Zoe had seen River do a number of times. "You are gonna be cleaning the latrine with your face, you don't cut that out." Zoe smirks as everyone enters the cargo bay.

"Who's the new recruit?" Book asked recognizing the girl as well.

"Everybody, I want you to meet Mrs. Reynolds." Zoe said pushing the girl forward. River looked at the crew and saw Inara's face show pain for a split second before it was quickly wiped away and replaced with her normal calm demeanor. She looked at Jayne longingly and knew exactly how she felt.

"You got married?!" Kaylee squealed excitedly.

"Well, that's—congratulations…" Simon was so confused apparently he had missed a lot when he was sulking by the fire last night. '

"We always hoped you two kids would get together." Wash joked. "Who is she?"

"She's no one!" Mal had had his fill. He heard the girl start to cry which just grated on his nerves.

River tuned them all out as she listened in to book asking Simon for an encyclopedia. She then turned to look at Jayne once more who was paying a bit of attention to anything, but this new woman. She then saw Inara trying to hide her disdain for the woman as well. She crossed quietly to stand beside her while the others argued.

"We need to talk." River whispered. Inara didn't say anything, but nodded her understanding. River smiled at her and patted her on the hand before walking over and punching Jayne in the arm for leering at Mal's wife. Book walks back in carrying Simon's encyclopedia exclaiming for a fact that he did marry her. Mal thinks for a moment before crossing towards Mal and Jayne.

"How drunk was I last night?" River shrugged.

"I don't know. We passed out." Jayne whispered.

"Together?!" Mal looked between the two who wouldn't look at each other.

"Maybe you have more important things to worry about." River tried to calm down.

"Maybe you are a horrible babysitter." He glared.

"yeah well maybe an adult shouldn't need a babysitter!" She yelled as she ran across the room. Inara was hot on her trail. She made it to the shuttle first.

"What did you need to talk about River?" Inara asked gently.

"I don't trust her." River said quietly as she followed Inara into her shuttle.

"Well I understand that you and Mal just started bonding, but-" Inara was cut off by River's raised eyebrow.

"I don't trust her and you don't either." She accused.

"Yea. You're right." Inara sat down letting out a breath. "Something just doesn't seem… right."

"Exactly." River nodded. "I propose we keep an eye on her." Inara nodded. "also don't take this into account when you think of Mal." River winked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think we both know you do." River smiled. "You have feelings for my father."

"River… I don't know what you think-" She was cut off by another eye raise.

"Look Inara. I am in no way capable of giving advice about love what with the idiot downstairs filling my head with nonsense, but you should tell him."

"I could say the same for you." River thought for a moment and then smiled. She was about to say something when someone knocked on Inara's door. They both turned to see Mal standing there.

"Can I come in?"

" I think I'll go talk to Jayne." River smiled as she glided out the door without saying anything to Mal.

"No." Inara said icily to him as he walked in anyway.

"See, that's why I usually don't ask." He smiled trying to make a joke, but quickly frowned when he saw Inara was not amused.

"What do you want?" She sighed. It was unusual for her to be annoyed and show it. He must have really upset her about something.

"I just needed to, um… hide." He sat down across from her.

"So I take it the honeymoon is over?" She grinned at the fact he was uncomfortable with this whole situation.

"She's a fine girl, don't misread- hell of a cook." Inara went back to glaring.

"I'm sure she has many exciting talents." She glared.

"Do you ever, um, wash your client's feet?" He asked almost as if he was embarrassed.

"It's my specialty." She seethed. "We'll be on Beaumonde at leas two weeks, right?"

"Can't be exactly sure, but-"

"Well, I need you to be exactly sure, Mal, I can't make commitments and then not keep them." She turned to glare at him. "That's your specialty."

"I'm sorry. Are you tetchy 'cause I got myself a bride or 'cause I don't plan to keep her?" He smirked

"No the only problem I had was you and River were just starting to bond and now this." She yelled. "What happens to her now?"

"River?" Mal was confused. "Did she say something? Is that why she was in here?" He asks worriedly.

"No. I just… am concerned." She smiled at his worry for River. It was almost endearing.

"Well then Maybe River will love her." He grinned at her. He didn't know why he was trying to upset her, but it was kinda fun. "Maybe we're soul mates."

"Yes. Great. I wish you hundreds of fat children." She rolled her eyes.

"Can you imagine that?" He laughs at the thought. River was enough to handle, but upsetting Inara had it's perks. "Me with a passel of critters underfoot? Ten years time, I could teach 'em to-"

"Can you leave me alone for five minutes please?" He yelled pushing him out the door.

_Hmm_ he thought_ maybe I pushed it too far._

River knocked lightly on Jayne's bunk. He was cleaning a gun as she made her way down the ladder and smiled at him.

"Hey." He grinned and returned to his work.

"Where's Mal?" he looked around. "He was lookin' fer ya."

"oh he's arguing with Inara." She smiled at him sitting next to him on the bed. She watched him work meticulously on the gun.

"You have something to do with that?" He smirked not looking up from the gun.

"Maybe." She teased. "A Callahan full-bore auto lock." She whispered.

"What?" He was astonished that she knew what kind of gun this was.

"May I?" She asked reaching for the gun. He nodded handing her Vera. "Callahan full-bore auto lock." She paused looking it over. "Customized trigger and double cartridge thorough-gage." She grinned and handed it back to him. "She's beautiful. What do you call her?"

"Uh… I uh… Vera." He was absolutely dumbfounded and if he was honest a little turned on.

"Vera fits her." She smiled.

"How did you know all that?"

"Oh I studied books about guns so we would have things to talk about." She smiled as if it was no big deal.

"You studied so you could discuss things with me?" She nodded. He was awe struck. This woman was absolutely amazing. No one had ever done something like this for him. "I uh… have to go talk to Mal about something." He said standing up quickly. "But I'll meet ya in the mess play a game of cards?" She nodded before standing up and making her way to the mess to wait for him. Jayne thought for a moment before taking Vera with him to go have a little chat with Mal.

Mal began to walk back to his bunk. He couldn't understand why Inara was so upset. Alright, he could, but he didn't think she would be that upset. He sighed to himself.

"I wasn't looking for a fight…" he sighed again as he rounded the corner. What he saw caught him off guard. There was Jayne standing there with a huge weapon almost as if he was waiting on him. He did not look pleased as he cocked the gun. Yep, Jayne was definitely waiting for him. "I always do seem to find one though…"

"Do I have your attention?" Jayne glared.

"We're kind of going to extremes here, ain't we?" He raised an eyebrow. He didn't know what this was about and frankly he really didn't want to know.

"There's times I think you don't take me seriously. And I think that oughta change"

"Do you think it's likely to?" What the hell had Jayne so worked up?

"You got something you don't deserve."

"and it's brought me a galaxy a'fun. I'm here to tell you." Saffron? That's what this was about?

"Six men came to kill me one time, and the best of them carried this. It's a Callahan full-bore auto lock, customized trigger and double cartridge thorough-gage." He said hoping that Mal would agree to this, honestly he was hoping that Mal wouldn't punch him. "It's my very favorite gun."

"Are you offering me a trade?" Mal was very confused.

"A trade?" Hell, it's theft!" He liked River he really did, but Vera was a piece of art. "This is the best gun made by man, and its got extreme sentimental value!"

" 'What I got' –she has a name." _What about River?_ Mal thought_ I could have sworn he had feelings for River?_ Mal seethed at the thought of his daughter being strung along by this idiot.

"So does this!" He looked at his weapon happily "I call it Vera."

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle." He rolled his eyes at the younger man.

"Dammit, Mal, I'd treat her okay…" He didn't understand why he was so upset about this.

"She's not to be bought. Nor bartered, nor borrowed or lent . She's a human woman, doesn't know a damn thing about the world and needs our protection."

"I'll protect her!" Of course he would protect River. Why wouldn't he?

"What about River?!" Mal yelled. "Just having fun stringing the girl along until you found something you wanted more!" Jayne paused. He thought he was talking about Saffron!

"Mal I was talkin' 'bout River." Jayne said quietly. What the hell was he talking about. Trading a gun for River? Was he a moron? Alright he knew the answer to that question.

"Jayne! Go play with your rain stick!" Mal yelled storming off.

"Right…" Jayne whispered. "That went well." He sighed as he took Vera back to his bunk. As he dropped into his bunk he came face to face with Saffron. She was smiling at him through her eyelashes. Usually this would make Jayne very happy, but now it was making him all kinds of uncomfortable.

"you wish to trade your gun for me?" Saffron blushed.

"Uhh… look I don't know what ya think ya heard, but I wasn't trying to trade fer ya."

"You would rather have the teenager?" She looked almost upset.

"Look it ain't like yer ugly or nuthin', but I really like her and …" He was cut off when Saffron pressed her lips to his. He pushed her away. "Look I appreciate the interest, but…" He began to get light headed.

"Goodnight." She waved to him as she climbed up the ladder.

"Son of a" Jayne couldn't manage to finish his sentence as the world went black.

River had been reading in the mess waiting patiently for Jayne to show up and play cards. She wondered to herself what he had to talk to Mal about that was so important. Whatever it was sure was taking a long time. She leaned over in the chair to look down the hall. No Jayne. Just as she returned to her reading as an alarm starts blaring. She jumped up in a panic and bolted down the hall screaming out Jayne's name. Just as she made it to the crew's bunks she ran into someone. She looked up from her position on the floor to see Inara with a panicked look on her face.

"Jayne?!" Inara asked. River nodded.

"Mal?!" She asked her. Inara nodded and they both bolted for the bunks. River dropped down in Jayne's bunk without taking the ladder. She screamed when she saw Jayne sprawled out on the floor.

"GET SIMON!" She yelled up the open hatch. River raced back over to Jayne's unconscious body. "Jayne, Jayne!" She began to shake his shoulders. "Get up you big dumb idiot." She felt her face grow hot and the tears begin to roll down her face.

"RIVER!" she heard Simon drop down behind her. "Don't kiss him! Don't touch his lips." She gave him a confused look.

"Same thing happened to Mal." He smirked "Goodnight kiss."

"You idiot!" She screamed at Jayne and then kicked him in the side before storming up the ladder screaming obscenities.

River waited patiently for both of the morons to wake up. How could they be so stupid? How could they both kiss that horrible woman? River smiled as Inara slowly made her way into the mess to wait with her. She knew why Inara was acting so weird.

"I see I'm not the only one who panicked." River smirked.

"Don't say anything!" Inara said sternly.

"I knew something was wrong with her." River smiled. "What's going on with the ship?"

"Kaylee says she messed with something. Set us on a path to somewhere and now we can't steer or change course."

"Bummer." River frowned. They heard heavy foot steps and turned to see both an upset Mal and Jayne heading towards them followed by Wash and Kaylee. They looked to each other and shrugged. They remained in the peaceful silence for a few more minutes until the heard Wash yell

"YES!" They both jumped up and ran onto the bridge.

"You got it?" Mal asked excitedly.

"We got life. We got screens. It's a qualified "yes". A partial."

"What about nav control?" He looked hopeful. River noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jayne was staring at her longingly. "So where are we headed?" She tries her best to not pay attention, but she can feel Jayne's eyes on her back.

"Coordinates she entered… we're headed for something and it's not too far…" Wash says as he pounds on the screen.

"Did she signal anyone?" River can't keep quiet anymore.

"… she did. Same coordinates, no I.D." Wash looks over to the Captain waiting for another question.

"Who's out there…?" A shiver runs up River's spine when she realizes that Jayne is just behind her.

"Let me see if her signal wave can translate to a visual, there might be a… Damn!. Heavy ionization, electrical interference bouncing the signal all… look at that…" He points to the screen as they all huddle around it. "It's like a circle." Mal and Book look at each other worriedly.

"It's a net." River doesn't like the sound of Mal's voice. She reaches back for Jayne's hand. It calms her although she won't admit it. He gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I don't get it. Where are we headed?" he looked out into the black as if he might see something.

"The end of the line." River feels her heart stop for just a moment as she steps back into Jayne's body.

"It's okay." He whispered into her ear. "Everything is going to be okay."

"It's a Carrion House. Scrap shop, takes ships, pulls 'em apart or fixes 'em up." Book looks at the faces around the room and wonders if he should be telling them this.

"Doesn't sound that scary…" Wash rolls his eyes.

"That pattern you're looking at is a net. We fly into that we're more than helpless. It'll turn the ship into one big electrical conduit, burn us all from the inside out." River can't stand to hear anymore and bolts from the room. As if not hearing it doesn't make it real.

"Some of the newer ones'll just hold you, then the scrappers'll override the airlocks, pull the oh-two, or just gas you. They're not looking to deal with survivors." Book watches as Inara follows after River.

"One day you're gonna tell us all how a preacher knows so damn much about crime." Jayne teases. Book knows that it is just how he deals with these types of situations.

"Kaylee." Mal looked to her for answers.

"I'm trying, sir, but…" She feels her face grow hot. Mal knows she's having a hard time with the pressure.

"Well, you stay on it. We can't fall into that net." He turned to address Book and Jayne. "We need a plan B." He slammed his hand down on the comm. "ZOE, GET OUR SUITS PREPPED, NOW." He turns back to the others. "I figure we got one shot at this." He looks to Wash "Give me a visual as soon as we're close."

"Won't be long…" Wash calls to him as he heads towards the door.

"What do I do?" Mal pauses at the sound of Jayne's voice.

"You go get Vera."

River stands there watching in awe as Mal, Zoe and Jayne suit up. It made her nervous to watch Jayne load massive bullets into Vera. Simon is doing his best to help Book pull information up in the encyclopedia.

"WE ARE TWO MINUTES OUT…" River heard Wash's voice over the comm., but she didn't register what he said.

"This thing needs oxygen around it to fire, and we don't have a case." River wants to run to him and wraps her arms around him, but she knows that will disrupt his train of thought and they all need him to be focused right now.

"We're gonna use a suit." She hears Mal say

"Here. We got it." Simon waved everyone over. He angles the encyclopedia for Jayne to see.

"what am I aiming for. The window?" Jayne looked at Mal.

"That might kill some fold, but it won't disrupt the net. See these six points where it's brightest? Those're the breakers. Hit one and it should short it out."

"What do you mean should?" Jayne looked up at River and their eyes connect for just a moment. She smiles at him an nods. An unspoken message passes between the two.

"River why don't you go sit in the mess with Inara." Simon suggested just trying to get her out of the room.

They're quiet as Mal opens the door showing the Jayne where he needs to shoot. Jayne's still thinking of the panic in River's eyes before she left the room. He has to do this! He can't let her die! He holds onto Vera a little tighter as they approach the ring slowly.

"You see it?" Mal asked looking at Jayne.

"Clear as day." He nods. "You see Vera? You dress yourself up, then you get taken out somewhere fun." He smiles at the gun. An unspoken message passes between the two as they draw nearer to the ring. Another second passes and Jayne fires at the breaker. It explodes and Jayne, still angry turns his rage onto the office and shoots the window out.

Inara and River looked at each other as they hear Serenity spring back to life. They both heave a sigh of relief and Inara begins to busy herself making tea for the two of them. River nods a thank you and sips slowly.

"You know I spoke with Simon earlier." Inara said quietly as she sat down next to the small girl.

"Oh… yea." She smiled. She liked Inara she was so easy to talk to. "What about?"

"Jayne…"

"Oh and what did he have to say on the subject of Jayne." River laughed. It was a well known fact to the entire crew that both Jayne and Simon severely disliked each other.

"That the good night kiss was only on one side of his mouth." River gave her a questioning look. "that means he didn't kiss her, she kissed him. Most likely he pushed her off." River smiled at the thought. "Cut him some slack River."

"I will cut Jayne some slack when You cut my father some slack." River smirked.

"Deal." Inara nodded.

"Good you would make a much better step-mother than Saffron anyway." She smiled at Inara for a moment and then left to go find Jayne.

**Alright let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please read and review**


	15. Chapter 15

**I apologize this took so long I was on vacation and was unable to write as much as I wanted. I want to thank everyone who has started following or has posted a review to this story. It really means a lot. I also want to thank my wonderful Beta Irishbrneyes who had been wonderful. I do not own anything and no profit was made from this.**

Kaylee and Simon smiled at each other as they walked through the ship flirting. It was one of those rare moments that Simon was actually being charming rather than sticking his foot in his mouth. Kaylee had been tormenting him about his prim and proper attitude, but Simon felt that there were just some things that one needed to hold onto even in the black. Today's topic was Simon's vocabulary and Kaylee was just not letting up.

"C'mon, admit it, it's true." She smiled causing her cheeks to grow red.

"No, I won't, because it's not." He wasn't going to back down this time. "I use swear words like anybody else."

"Oh, really?" She smirked pausing their walk to look him straight in the eye. "See, I never heard you. So when is it you do all this cussin'? After I go to bed, or…"

"I swear when it's appropriate." Which according to him was never.

"Simon, the while point of swearin' is that it ain't appropriate." Kaylee smiled at Inara as she crossed their path slowly looking as regal as ever. Simon was stunned by just how beautiful one woman could look.

"Hey, there, Inara!" Kaylee loved her like she was an older sister. "Headin' off for some glamorous romance?"

"Let's hope so." She laughed at Kaylee's ability to be happy about anything. "See you two tomorrow. Don't let Mal get you into too much trouble while I'm gone."

"Bye, now. Have good sex." She waved as Inara left the room. Kaylee turned to see Simon's shocked face. "What?"

Before he could answer they both turned as a loud crash came from the infirmary. Simon bolted concerned that maybe someone was stealing meds from his kit. As they both entered they saw Jayne standing there completely shirtless taping what looked like a small handgun to his stomach. Kaylee smirked at Jayne knowing he was doing this for a reason, but Simon simply stood there mouth hanging open staring at the mess that was his work space. The cabinets had all been ripped open and things had been emptied onto the counter.

"Now this would be a perfect time for a swear word." Kaylee teased Simon.

"What… happened in here?" He still couldn't close his mouth.

"Needed to find some tape." Jayne said continuing to rip pieces off with his teeth.

"So you had to tear my infirmary apart?"

"'Parently." He shrugged.

"My god- you're like a trained ape." He paused thinking about what he was going to say. "Without the training."

Mal and River had been going over Abigail's medical files that Simon had delivered when they heard the commotion and then the yelling. At first they wanted to ignore it, but when Simon started yelling they knew they better go check it out.

"Better go get your uncle before Jayne hurts him." Mal rolled his eyes.

"Yes that would be bad." She grinned and nodded. They walked into a see Simon trying to put everything back while a shirtless Jayne was taping a gun to his stomach. Mal glared at him, but River was having a hard time controlling her breathing. She had not prepared herself to see Jayne in this manner and it was hard to not stare. His muscles were even larger that she thought and she watched with great interest as they stretched and tightened while he completed his task.

"Hello…?" Simon said waving a hand in front of her face. "River…?"

"What? I'm sorry I wasn't listening." She said shaking away the thoughts about Jayne might look like with less clothing.

"I was asking if you could please remove your new pet from my infirmary." He knew what she was staring at, but he chose to ignore it.

"Yes… well I'm just going to go finish reading these files…somewhere else." She finished her sentence red faced and bolted out the door to somewhere there wasn't a shirtless man. Mal looked at Jayne for a moment and then turned to look at the door River had just left through.

"Well that was a might unsettlin'" Mal said slapping a hand over his face at the thought of his daughter leering at Jayne. "Jayne. I told you we're settlin' down at the Canton factory settlement on Higgins' moon."

"Yep. That you did." He smirked as he ripped off another piece of tape.

"Canton don't allow guns in their town." He tried to glare at him hoping he'd get the hint. It didn't work.

"Yes sir. That's why I ain't strappin' one to my hip."

"No. That's why you ain't strappin' one anywhere." He was beginning to get angry.

"Oh, listen, Mal- I was in Canton a few years back bout two months after I left home, I might have made me a few enemies thereabouts." He looked up at Mal hoping he'd get the hint.

"Enemies? You? No, how can it be?" Simon rolled his eyes throwing more supplies back into a drawer.

"I just don't like the idea of us going in there empty-handed is all." He said whispering as he pulled him to the side. "These folks might be one to hurt a pretty lit'l girl that travels with me." Mal thought for a moment then shook his head.

"Why are you still arguing what's been decided?" Jayne looks at him for a moment hoping he'll change his mind, but sighs before ripping the tap off his belly. Kaylee can't help, but laugh as a look of pain crosses his face and he lets out a very unmanly whimper.

Canton was a small town mostly made up of indentured servants. It was exactly what Simon thought of the Rim when he and his parents discussed it. He scrunched up his nose at the smell that seemed to sweep through the ship the moment the cargo bay door opened.

"Canton really… stinks." He looked around for what was making the offending smell and finding nothing he promptly gave up.

"That's what makes it such a great drop point. No one comes here that doesn't have to." Mal smiled as he walked out into the open.

"I vote we do this job really, really fast." Simon was glad at least Wash was siding with him on the smell.

"Kessler's our man." Mal continued on as if Wash had never spoken. "He's holdin' the goods we're to deliver. We go in, make contact. Easy peasy. Zoe, you're holding down the fort. Call ahead to Benoulli, let him know we'll have his merchandise end of the week."

"Don't I usually stay with the ship?" Wash looked around in confusion.

"I out rank you." She smiled as she kissed his cheek. "Have fun."

"So, this is a place where they… they make mud." Simon looked around as if this place was beneath him.

"Yep. Clay really. You'd be surprised how many things it ends up in." Kaylee said a little put off by Simon's uppity attitude. "Serenity's got more than a few ceramic parts in her."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She smiled

"Huh." Simon always figured that ceramic was mostly used in stuff for decoration, not ship parts. For some reason that seemed a bit unsafe, but they hadn't fallen out of the sky yet.

"Captain, don't you think Simon should come with us?" Kaylee hoped he would. They would have to stop by the bar and she was hoping she just might get him drunk enough to do some stuff.

"What? Oh, Kaylee, I don't-don't think that…" Simon stumbled over his words trying to think of a reason to stay on the ship.

No one noticed as River stood there watching as Simon tried to talk his way out of helping. She smiled and didn't notice when Jayne walked up and stood next to her. She turned to ask him about what kind of trouble he had gotten in, but started laughing the moment she saw him. He obviously was trying to hide who he was, but his ridiculous outfit drew more attention than he thought. He was wearing his coat, his hat with the ear flaps pulled down and a pair of goggles.

"What?" He asked

"Nothing you just look absolutely ridiculous." She giggled.

"Yea well your hair still makes ya look like a boy." He sneered causing her to glare at him.

"You know I was thinking Jayne." She turned to smile at him and if he was honest with himself it scared him.

"What?"

"When you were trying to cheer me up after I gave you blood." He nodded. "well you insulted people who are from the core."

"Yea…"

"Saying that we're inbred." He didn't like where this was going. "Your mother is from Lodinum." She smiled. "I may just have to tell her." She stuck her tongue out at him and ran down the ramp towards the rest of the group.

"Now that ain't fair Riv!" He hollered after her.

"Careful Jayne, don't want everyone to know that a fugitive has returned." She smirked as she pulled his hat off and ducked behind Mal.

"I'm not going that far, Doctor, and you might maybe make yourself useful." Jayne caught the tail end of Mal's statement to the Doc. He wasn't sure, but it sounded like the Doc would be coming and helping with the job.

"Come again?" He sneered at River as she remained behind Mal giggling incessantly.

"The management here don't take kindly to sight-seers, which is why we're…" he paused as Jayne wandered into his line of sight. He took it in and moved on thinking it was best not to say anything. He could tell by the look on River's face she had already made fun of him anyways. "posing as buyers. There ain't a one of us looks the part more that the good Doctor. I mean, the pretty fits, soft hands, definitely a moneyed individual. All rich and lily-white, pasty all over…"

"All right." Simon said throwing his hands up. "I'll go. Just, stop describing me." He frowned as Mal directed him to the front of the group.

"You're the boss, boss." He smirked back at Jayne knowing he was going to say something.

"He's the boss now?" Jayne asked turning to River who started following the group. She shrugged and then kept walking. "Day keeps getting' better and better."

"River give Jayne back his ridiculous hat. He's pouting like a kid." Mal rolled his eyes at the two younger people on his ship.

"I am not whining!" Jayne ripped the hat from River's hand and stalked behind them annoyed that she continued to laugh at him.

The crew walked slowly in between the mud dwellings after Simon did his best to pose as a buyer. To say he was a horrible actor was an understatement. River and Kaylee did their best to console him, but Simon wasn't buying it so River gave up and joined Mal and Jayne at the front of the group.

"Boy's gonna get us killed." He shot Simon a glare and turned around to continue his statement. "Let's just do the deal and git." River smacked him in the arm, but said nothing. Mal wasn't so nice.

"His disguise ain't half so funny as yours. What are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"You haven't been here in years, Jayne. You really think you need that get-up?" Wash laughed to himself. "No one's gonna remember you…" Wash stopped as they all came upon a statue of Jayne on a pedestal. River looked to Jayne who hadn't taken his eyes off of the statue.

"Think it's possible they might." Mal said with his mouth hanging open.

"Son of a bitch." Kaylee would have been shocked by Simon's cursing, but it seemed there were more pressing matters at hand.

River had no idea how long they stood there in complete silence, but the longer they did the edgier Jayne seemed to get. She had no idea how to move this party along so she just stood there as shocked as everyone else. Mal was the first to break the silence.

"Jayne?"

"Yeah?" no one stopped looking at the statue.

"You want to tell me how there's a statue of you, 'er, starin' at me like I owe him somethin'?" He wasn't wrong the statue had his trademark scowl. These people had obviously met Jayne, or at least seen him.

"Wishin' I could, Cap'n"

"No. Seriously. Jayne? You want to tell me how come there's a-" Mal was quickly cut off by Jayne who was looking around like a fugitive with a price on his head.

"Look, Mal, I got no ruttin' idea. I was here a few years back, right after I left home, like I said. Pulled a second-story from the Magistrate up on the hill. But things went way south, and I had to high-tail it. They don't put you on a pedestal in the town square for that." Though his voice never rose above a whisper River could hear the urgency in it and she took his hand to calm him and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, 'cept I'm, lookin' at some fair compellin' evidence says they do. Or maybe there's more went down here than you're lettin' on?" Mal looked down at River and Jayne's hands and both wondered if he was talking about the statue anymore.

"On my mother, Mal. I don't got the faintest notion." He placed his hand on his chest and River smirked at him as she made him switch hands and place his hand in the correct spot. "always gotta be right don't cha?" He smirked taking a break from the serious situation to smile at her.

"It's like you don't know me at all." She grinned and nudged him. Simon look between the two younger people teasing each other and then back up at the statue.

"This must be what going mad feels like." He said placing a hand on his forehead.

"I think they've really captured him, though, you know?" Wash took a serious look at the statue. "Captured his essence."

"He looks sort of angry, don't he?" Kaylee asked before checking on Simon who couldn't stop staring at River and Jayne's hands.

"Do they always do that?" He asked Kaylee in a whisper.

"What? Hold hands?" He nodded. "Oh heck yea. Ya get use to it. Don't mean they're together."

"We can hear you." River whispered back at them.

"Think Jayne thinks he's not good enough and well River pushes him away." She whispered a little quieter.

"We can still hear you." Jayne sounded mad. Kaylee laughed as a whistle blew and Jayne about jumped out of his skin. He glared at her before turning back to Mal. "Hey, I got an idea- 'Stead of hangin' around playin' art critic until I get pinched by The Man, how's about we move the hell away from this eerie-ass piece-a-work and get on with our 'creasingly eerie-ass day? How's that!?"

"I don't know. This here's a spectacle might warrant a moment's consideration." Mal smirked as he continued to stare at the statue. Jayne turned around as he heard River giggle as if there were no tomorrow. He saw Kaylee moving about still keeping her eyes glued to the statue.

"Wherever I move to, his eyes keep… followin' me." River, who thought this was hilariously funny slapped her knee as she nearly fell against Kaylee. She only stopped when Jayne stomped off towards the bar yelling at them.

"Come on, gorram it! We got a job, let's go do it and get outta here." He stopped and turned to see them all still staring at the statue. "I crossed the Magistrate of this company-town, understand? An' he's not exactly a forgivin' sorta guy-" He stormed into what appeared to be a bar.

"I agree with you Wash, looks just like him." River grinned at him mischievously.

"I know!" he said throwing his hands up happy that someone had agreed with him. "See that's why you're my favorite." He laughed as they slowly ducked into the bar.

River had never been to a bar quite like this one. It was small and dirty with simple furnishings and crowded with mud-crusted off-duty workers. She turned her attention to a man sitting in the corner playing a guitar. She got lost in her thoughts as she listened to him strum away on the instrument and didn't notice as a young mudder came bounding into the room knocking her down. He began to apologize and help her off the floor. He smiled at her and then was promptly knocked out of the way by Jayne as he helped her up on his own.

"Stay close." He hissed at her through his teeth. "Dong ma?" She nodded and then followed him to the table which already had several clay bottles on it. "Can't be a statue a' me. No reason for it. Flies in the face of every kinda sense." He began to mutter to himself.

"Won't argue with that-" Wash smirked at him and then took a drink. River laughed at him when his face contorted as he tasted what he just drank. "GAAH! Je shr shuh muh lan dong shi?!"

"They call it mudder's milk." He smirked as both he and River took a big gulp. Simon wanted to say something about River drinking, but he felt it was best to keep his mouth shut. "Got all the vitamins, proteins, and carbs of your Grandma's best turkey dinner, plus fifteen-percent alcohol."

"It's horrific" Wash pushed away his glass. River, who had finished off hers, quickly swiped it and began to drink.

"Worked for the Egyptians." Simon shrugged and then wrinkled his nose as he too tasted the drink.

"Whazzat?" Jayne rolled his eyes and turned to Simon.

"The ancient Egyptians, back on Earth-That-Was. It's not so different from the ancestral form of beer they fed to the slaves who built their pyramids. Liquid bread. Kept them from starving, and knocked them out at night, so they wouldn't be inclined to insurrection." River rolled her eyes at her uncle causing Jayne to snicker.

"Wow, Simon… That's so-so historical." Kaylee gushed looking for any excuse to compliment Simon.

"Tell me, Little Miss Big-Words- You see a pyramid sittin' out there?" Jayne narrowed his eyes at the Doctor.

"No-"

"Neither do I." He almost spilled his drink as River punched his shoulder. "So here, let me pour you a big frosty mug of shut-the-hell-up." He pushed the bottle towards Simon. River looked as Mal noticed a rather well-dressed man stood across the bar. She looked back to see a young man staring at Jayne. She nudged him and he turned to see the boy as well. "Shake yer head, boy. Yer eyes are stuck." The boy didn't move, but his eyes remained trained on Jayne. " 'GIT!" the boy's eyes widened and he bolted across the bar. River stared at Jayne, appalled by the way he treated the child and then smacked him in the arm.

"Be nice!" she whispered.

"He was gonna get me caught!"

"No your ridiculous outfit was accomplishing that just fine." She was about to smile at her joke when the man who had been playing guitar started a new song that made their entire group turn around and stare in both shock and horror.

"_JAAAYNE! The man they call JAAAYNE!"_

"Yeh-soo, ta ma duh…" No one could hear the rest of Jayne's statement as the mudders gave a loud cry of excitement. River unable to contain her laughter was leaning across the table wiping tears from her eyes as the song continued on. River cheered with excitement as the Mudders sang along with the chorus and even Wash couldn't help, but sing along with her, much to Jayne's chagrin.

"Umm…Jayne?" Mal and Simon both had their mouths hanging open while Kaylee had now joined in on River and Wash's excitement.

"Yeah, Mal."

"You got any light to shed on this development?"

"No, Mal."

"No… This must be what going mad feels like…" He lifted his drink to his mouth and downed it as fast as possible. River glared at her uncle and turned to look at Wash.

"He's just jealous no one wrote a song about him." She smirked causing Wash t laugh even harder as the man started another verse.

"I'll be gorramned!" River shot him a questioning glance. "That's where the cash went!" Mal and the rest of the group turned their heads finally aware that he was speaking. "I stole the money from Higgins, like the song says. Lifted me one of his hover-planes, but I got tagged by anti-aircraft. Started losin' altitude-had to dump them strongboxes of money to stay airborne." He grimaced as he took another drink. "Sixty-thousand, untraceable, an' I dropped it square in mud-farmer central!"

River turned to watch him for just a moment as he thought about what he could have done with all that money. She smiled to herself and put a comforting hand on his shoulder when she knew exactly what that money would have gone to. The song came to an end and the crowd applauded. Wash looked about the room at all the people in disbelief.

"We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero…" River punched him in the arm and went back to comforting Jayne who was shaking his head in disbelief. Once he realized the song was over he looked up at Mal expectantly, when he realized Mal was still in a state of shock he spoke up.

"Captain, now they're off the subject of me, shouldn't we be getting' the hell out of here?"

"I'd say that's a reasonable request, given the circumstance." Jayne hopped up grabbing River by the arm, not feeling comfortable having River in this town in the first place given his history, and stomped up the stairs and out the door.

"Ruttin' mudders…" He muttered to himself.

"You were going to use that money for Mattie weren't you?" She smiled at him already knowing the answer.

"Yea, gonna take her to a proper doc in the core." As they pushed the front door open they came to see the street in front of them was filled with mudders. The boy Jayne had scared off earlier was sitting in front of all of them with a grin on his face.

"JAYNE!" they all cried out as he came into view.

"Son of a bitch." River grimaced.

"JAYNE! JAYNE! JAYNE!" he heard them chant, but grabbed River's arm and darted back into the bar. If she wasn't in any danger before she certainly was now. If they knew she was with him, which they certainly did, she would be hurt first.

"Gimme some milk." He said pushing River to sit up on the bar in front of him. He slammed down his goggles and hat and the bartender looked at him for just a second before he slammed down a bottle next to River. Jayne offered River a drink, she shook her head no, before downing it as fast as he could.

"Don't you understand?!" The young man who had tried to help her up earlier was standing there staring at Jayne in admiration. "He's come back!" the crowd in the bar hadn't heard the chants and were extremely confused. "It's Jayne!" As he went to take another drink the bartender slapped the glass away from his lips splashing River in some of the offending beverage.

"What th-" Jayne went to protest, but was cut off by the bartender

"The hero of Canton and his girl won't be drinking that shiong mao niao." He pulled a whiskey bottle from under the bar and put it on the bar in plain view. "They drink the best whiskey in th' house." Jayne looked to River for some answers. She simply shrugged and drank some whiskey then quickly handed it to Jayne as the crowd converges on them.

Jayne and River had been drinking the whiskey as if it were water and were completely sloshed. He could no longer be mad at the mudders for their adoration of him and he did his best to keep the men away from River, seeing as they were eyeing her something fierce.

"To Jayne!" one young mudder said eyeing River carefully trying to decide if she was WITH Jayne or just simply with him.

"To Jayne!" the crowd yelled raising their glasses, River included.

"To me!" He smirked downing his as well.

"To the Mudders!" Jayne yelled hoping that he can gain more favor.

"To the Mudders!" River and the crowd yelled back excitedly.

Wash and Mal had watched with both shock and awe as Jayne had managed to gain favor of the whole town. River had waved them off after the second time they tried to remove them from the bar. An older man walked up to the expectantly as Mal finished his drink.

"So, you're one of Jayne's men, eh?" Wash smirked at Mal's horrified face.

"What? No-" Mal went to protest.

"He's River's father." Wash nudged him.

"AH you're Jayne's girl's father!" The man slapped him on the back. "And you serve on his crew!"

"Must be an honor to have him choose yer daughter although I have to admit she is a fine young thing." Mal simply nodded not knowing what else to say. "Must be a heck of an honor, servin' under a man like that. Strong as a draft horse, ain't he?" Mal nodded again. "Bet ya can't wait till she starts popping out grandchildren. Mal's face dropped at the thought of River and Jayne having children together. "an' a heart as big as all outdoors…" Wash seeing that Mal was growing angry patted him on the back and spoke up.

"Yup, we're just happy he lets us stay."

"Well I can't imagine he'd kick ya off. What with ya being his girl's pa and all." Mal watched, but didn't really listen as Jayne and River stayed close and made eyes at each other.

River watched Simon carefully as he and Kaylee sat drinking. To say that Simon didn't drink often was an understatement. She turned her attention back to Jayne as a Mudder woman made her way a little closer and skittered back at River's harsh glare. Simon and Kaylee were having the time of their lives as they nestled in close to each other on a bench.

"You know, I've saved lives. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. I re-attached a girl's leg. Her whole leg. She named her hamster after me. I got a hamster. He drops a box of money, he gets a town." He slurred his words. "And my niece!" Simon added in disgust.

"Hamsters is nice." She smiled at him sweetly. "And I don't actually think that they're together. Jus' pretendin' so no mudder gets any ideas 'bout her."

"To Jayne! The box dropping, man –ape-gone-wrong-thing, hero of mudville." He raised his glass and Kaylee not knowing what else to do laughed and drank with him.

"You know, you're pretty funny, even without cussin'…" Simon took another drink and then smiled at her.

"You know… you're pretty… pretty." Kaylee looks at him shocked that he had actually called her pretty.

"What? What did you say?"

"Nothing. Just that you're pretty… Even when you're covered with engine grease, you're-maybe, 'specially when you're covered with engine grease, you're-" His drunk rambling was cut off when Mal came over to get a plan together.

"It's time to get out of this nuthouse. Got some plannin' to work out."

"Now, Captain?! But things are going' so well!" She tried hinting to Mal that she wasn't quite ready to leave, but he obviously didn't get it.

"Um. I suppose, Jayne's certainly feelin' better about life. But we-" He stopped when Kaylee glared at him and then leaned in a little closer to Simon.

"I said things are goin' well-"  
"Oh. Well… I tell you what Jayne's stuck here with his adoring masses, and my daughter." He seethed as Jayne put his hand on River's thigh. "How about you and Simon hang around and keep an eye on him for me?" Kaylee rolled her eyes and then returned her attention to Simon.

River glared at the woman who had tried once again to get close to Jayne. She knew she wasn't actually with him, but damned if she wasn't gonna play the part correctly. Jayne was talking to the young man who had been making eyes at her all night. He had seemed to concede defeat to Jayne, realizing that woman would much rather choose the hero of Canton over some lowly mudder.

"So the Magistrate let you keep all that cash?" River asked him as she shot the woman her best icy glare which caused her to back up a few paces and join another group.

"He did." He smiled at River and then turned his attention to Jayne. "And it pained him, that's for dead sure. When he found out se sent his prods in to take it back from us… but the workers resisted."

"Fought the law, eh?" Jayne laughed as he swayed and grabbed the bar next to River's thigh to keep himself steady.

"If the mudders are together on a thing, there's too many of us to be put down… so in the end, he just called it a 'bonus'"

"One hell of a bonus…" Jayne laughed as River steadied him by grabbing his shoulders.

"And then, when we put that statue of you up in town square, he rolled in, wanted to tear it down. But the whole town rioted…" River's eyes widened as Jayne wiped a tear from his eye. He was obviously drunk and the thought of violence in his name touched him deeply. River rolled her eyes and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders as the woman once again made a step towards Jayne.

"You guys started a riot? On account of me? Oh… I am truly touched, truly, truly touched by that. I mean, all of this has been swell and all, but that, my very own riot…" Jayne paused and patted River's arm lightly. "That's just about the nicest thing I ever heard…"

"I can't believe you're back…" The young man smiled up at his hero.

"How could I stay away?" Jayne hugged him tightly and stepped back into River's embrace.

"Well seems your woman ain't gonna let you go tonight." The mudder smiled at her as she smiled back politely. "Forget the riot she sure is a shiny prize for yer trouble."

"Yea that she is." Jayne titled his head back and smiled at her as she laughed pushed his head forward at their inside joke.

Magistrate Higgins paced back and forth in his home as the Foreman hurried towards him. He seemed lost in his thoughts as the Foreman began his spiel about Jayne being back.

"What are you on about?" the magistrate said realizing he was speaking to him.

"There's a problem in worker-town, sir." Higgins nodded for him to continue. "Jayne Cobb's come back."

The magistrate's Jaw dropped open as he sprinted out towards the bog. He pauses before he makes his way down the catwalk, which was lined with hotboxes. He stopped at one and eyed it carefully before motioning for the Foreman to open it. They all stepped back and watched as a scraggled man slowly made his way out. He stunk to high heaven and his uncut nails scrapped the metal .

"Evening, Stitch." Higgins smiled at the man.

"What do you want with me?"

"Nothing. You've done your time. Paid your debt. Time you were on your way." He looked back to the foreman and grabs for the duffel bag that he carried. He tossed it to Stitch. "Here. I believe these were your personal affects…"

"You keep me in that box four years and then give me a loaded gun?" he looked over the Magistrate with his one good eye carefully.

"Got the urge to use it, no doubt. But I'm not the one that brought you in on that robbery. I'm not the one who partnered up with you and then turned on you when his plan went south. How high up was that shuttle when he pushed you out? Thirty feet? Jayne Cobb cost you four years of your life, plus a perfectly good eyeball. And here's the poetical portion. He's back in town. This very day." Higgins watched with glee as Stitch's body tensed and he cocked the gun.

"Hear tell he's got a real beautiful young woman with him too." The foreman told him smiling at Higgins.

"Best of luck in your new life." Higgins waved as he walked back towards his house leaving Stitch to his vengeance.

River and Jayne had woken up early, having passed out together on a bench. She smirked as she watched Mal walk into the bar looking for his drunken crew. She pointed to the bench just in front of him where Kaylee and Simon laid tangled up in each other. He nudged Kaylee's shoulder and she woke up and smiled at the image of Simon laying there with her. She smiled and then looked up to see Mal.

"Captain!" She yelled embarrassed that she had been caught in such a compromising position. Her yelling woke Simon who seemed a bit out of it.

"Wha-? Kay-?" River and Jayne laughed leaning into each other as Simon tried to make sense of where he was and what had happened. "Mal! Mal, I –uh…" He began to pull himself away from Kaylee as he looked around the bar. "Captain, nothing happened—There was some drinking, but—We certainly didn't—I mean, I would never—not with Kaylee, I –I assure you, nothing inappropriate took place—" River and Jayne were doubled over as Simon made an ass out of himself.

"What do you mean, not with me?" Kaylee said shoving him to the ground roughly as she stormed towards Mal.

"Yer uncle sure likes to put his foot in it. Don't he?" Jayne grinned as he drank his horrible tasting coffee.

"Yes, well, we can't all be geniuses now can we."

"Brat." He smirked.

"Brute." She teased shoving him as she made her way to Mal.

"Well Jayne, you have a little appearance to make." Mal said looking between Jayne and River suspiciously.

"I do?"

"That's right. This job here has gone way past long enough." Jayne shrugged and nodded that he was on board with whatever plan had come up with.

"Where you goin'?" Kaylee spat as Simon tried to follow everyone out of the bar.

"What? I'm coming with y-" Kaylee glared at him causing Simon to sit back down.

"I don't think so. No, maybe you ought to stay here. It's about the time for a civilized person to have his breakfast. That's the sorta thing would be appropriate, don't you think?"

"I'm gonna side with Kaylee on this one." Jayne said stopping River where she was. "Why don't you stay here with Simon. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." She wanted to argue, but the look on his face said that this was more a concern for her safety rather than keeping her out of the way.

River sat next to Simon at a table and smileed comfortingly at him. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Simon, must you always be such a boob?"

"What?" He asked

"You hurt Kaylee's feelings. You have to apologize when we get back." He nodded and then looked at the bartender.

"Excuse me… Could I see a menu?"

"'Menu…" The bartender laughed and then continued his work. River rolled her eyes at Simon's stupidity and walked across the bar to distance herself from him.

When the food came out River watched Simon pick at it carefully eyeing the food carefully. He took a few careful bites and then looked around for anyone who might possibly work there. River laughed at his ridiculousness.

"Uh…Ahem, Could I just get the—the check, please?" River and Simon both jumped as the door slammed open revealing a man who was down right terrifying. River leaned into the shadowed corner further to hide herself as the man approached Simon.

"Heard tell you run with Jayne Cobb…"

"Excuse me?" Simon squinted at the man as he stepped closer.

"Heard that he's got a little girlfriend round these parts. You're gonna show me where she's hidin' and then you two are gonna take me to that low-down shingle of a man…"

"Listen, sir, I don't know who you think you—" River raised her hands to her mouth as Stitch backhanded Simon across the face causing him to fall to the floor.

"Sir?! Look at me, ya pantywaist idjit!" He kicked Simon and River began to fight her instincts to go help him as she ducked farther into the corner. "I just spent the last four years steamin' in a hotbox and you're sirrin' me?" River watched in horror as the man lifted Simon up with one arm. "Folks say you're part a' Jayne's team. So-" River finally started to move as he pulled a switchblade, flicked it open and placed it alongside Simon's face. "Where is that no-good reptile hidin' hisself? Where is this woman he's got? You tell me, boy, or I'm a' cut off every last bit a' your good looks."

River slowly made her way towards him and picked up a clay bottle as she passed by a table. She quickly smashed it against his head and he dropped Simon as he turned to backhand her. She dropped to the floor as she clutched her face. The blood had begun to trickle down her mouth slowly. He turned and smiled at her.

"AH. There you are." He walked towards her carefully. "They weren't lyin' You are a pretty lit'l thing." Simon rushed towards him and he turned and punched him causing Simon to knock his head on a table and drop to the ground silently. River screamed for him as the chanting began outside.

"JAYNE! JAYNE! JAYNE!" Stitch turned and sneered at the sound. He grabbed River by the arm and jerked her into a standing position.

"Come on." He pulled her roughly outside and into the back of the waiting crowd.

River felt Stitches arm wrapped around her throat and his knife was held to her face. His breath smelt like something had died. She felt bile rise in her throat as Jayne came into view standing in front of his own likeness raising up his arms to silence the crowd that was chanting out his name. He stood there for a moment listening to the silence that had fallen on the crowd.

"SPEECH!" someone from the crowd yelled and then the chant started again. He thought for a moment before raising his arms and silencing them once again.

"I'm no good with words. Don't use 'em much, myself…" River listened to the crowd laugh. "But I want to thank y'all, for bein' here, and for thinking so much of me… Far as I see it, You people have been given the shortest end of a stick ever offered a human soul in this crap-heel 'verse… But you took that end, and you, you know… Well… You took it. And that's … I guess that's somethin'" The crowd began to applaud but was quickly shut off by a loud gun blast.

Jayne's mouth dropped open as he saw Stitch standing there with a knife to River's neck, with a un pointed towards the sky. Smoke drifted upwards leaving a light trail. River began to struggled and Stitch gripped her tighter.

"Stitch Hessian…" Jayne couldn't believe it. He thought that Stitch had died on the fall.

"Hey there, Jayne. Thought I'd make yer girl watch while I kill ya. Then I was gonna make her my girl." He turned his mouth towards River's ear. "Ain't that right sweetheart." He whispered causing a chill to run up her spine.

"Leave her outta this Stitch." Jayne yelled. "She ain't got nuthin' to do with this." Stitch looked at the girl and pulled her closer.

"Nah. I think she's gonna stay right here."

"Where you been hidin'? You gone and got yourself lookin' mighty hideous…" Jayne thought quickly trying to think of a way to get River to safety.

"Yea… Yer right about that Cobb." Stitch brought the knife to River's cheek slicing it slowly across. River cried out and struggled harder against him. "Course once I kill you and take yer girl I'm gonna make her mine. Pretty little thing won't want to stick around with the likes a me lessin' she ain't got any other options left." He made another small cut just below the first one. "Few more cuts like that and she'll only have me left." Jayne grimaced as he watched River motion to her hip. She was trying to tell him something. "So what's this 'bout the Hero a' Canton'? Was I hearin' that right? Four years' lock-down can play tricks on ears…" Jayne takes his eyes off of River for just a moment.

"Ain't no hero, Stitch. Just a workin' stiff like yourself…" He had to keep him talking so he could work out River's plan. He sees Mal edge his way towards Stitch and River and he tried to keep him facing the statue.

"Whoo! Yessir! Now that is funny…" He turned to the crowd. "Yep. He's right, Jayne is. Fact, we used to work together, he an' I" Stitch swung the gun around quickly to point it at Mal. "Now you let ol' Stitch speak his piece." River nodded to show it was okay and Mal raised his hands and took a few steps back.

"Go on, then."

"Whole lotta money inna Magistrate's safe, weren't there, Jayne?" He turned back around to face the crowd, River still held tight against him.

"Got away clean too. But then our plane took a hit, an' we were goin' down. Dumped the fuel reserve, dumped the life support, hell we even dumped the seats. Then there was Jayne, the money and me. And there was no way he was gonna drop that money…"

"He did! He dropped it on the mudders!" A young man yelled out .

"By accident, you inbred dunghead! He tossed me out first. We run together six months and he turned on me 'fore I could scream."

"You'd'a done the same." Jayne yelled to him.

"Not ever! You protect the man you're with—you watch his back! Everybody knows that—'cept the 'hero of Canton'" Stitch yelled jerking River around wildly. She stumbled and then caught herself. She began to motion to Jayne towards her hips again.

"You gonna talk me to death, buddy? That the plan?" He finally understood what she's trying to tell him. The knife! She was trying to remind him about his knife! He slowly dropped his hand down and began to reach for it.

"This is the plan."

Stitch lifted the gun to River's horror and pointed it at Jayne. He quickly fired and everyone watched in stunned silence as the young man from the bar jumped in front of Jayne taking the shot square in the chest. Just as his body hit the ground Jayne tossed the knife. It sliced through the air nicking River on the arm before piercing Stitch's shoulder. River used this as a distraction and pushed Stitch back and ran for Mal who quickly caught her and pushed her behind him. They both watched as Stitch charged and Jayne used his body weight to knock him to the ground and began to slam his head against the statue until he stopped breathing. Jayne turned in anger to the body of the young man.

"Get up you stupid piece-a—Get up!" He didn't hear River walk slowly up behind him. Blood had trickled down her face slowly. He turned and wiped some away with his thumb.

"He's not getting up Jayne." She whispered.

"What'd you do that for?" He asked turning his attention back to the young man who laid motionless on the ground." What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear a word he said? I'm a mean, dumb sommbitch!" He dropped down next to the body again. "An' you don't take no bullets for a dumb sommbitch, you dumb sommbitch!" He began to grow angry and knocked River's hands away as she tried to comfort him. "All of you! You think someone's just gonna drop money on ya, money they could use? There ain't people like that! There's just people like me."

"Come on Jayne." River grabbed his hand. "Let's go back to the ship." He turned to look at her. The cuts on her face. Her busted lip. Everything that had been done to her and he could only think one thing. _ My Fault!_ He ripped his hand from her and stalked towards the statue. He began to push against it and everyone watched in stunned silence as it toppled over. He waited for a few moments and he raced past the others towards Serenity.

Jayne had avoided everyone on board for a few hours before River, finally released from the infirmary, found him sulking up on the catwalk overlooking the cargo bay. She remained quiet as she sat down next to him tucking her skirt underneath her bottom. She took his hand and waited for him to be ready to start talking. It didn't take long.

"Don't make no sense." He paused looking at her and wiping the tears from his eye with his free hand. "Why the hell's that mudder go an do that, Riv? Jumpin' in front a' that shotgun blast. Weren't a one of them understood what happened out there- hell, they're probably stickin' that statue right back up."

"Probably." She nodded

"Don't know why that eats at me so…"

"What you said out there." He looked to her. "About yourself. You are a hero."

"I'm not. I'm a mean dumb-"

"No. Anyways. It wasn't about you. It was about what they needed." He gives her a confused look and the two grew quiet again. "You are a hero."

"I'm not." He looked at her face. The weaves Simon had placed over her cuts looked good and insured she wouldn't scar. He lightly touched it and she pulled back quickly as the pain set in. He grimaced. "That is my fault."

"No. It's Stitch's fault. You are a hero whether you believe it or not. You saved me today and when we were heading for that ring that was going to kill us you saved us all." He began to argue but she stopped him. "When we were heading for that ring, What were you thinking?"

"I don't see how that's-"

"Just tell me."

"I was thinking that you looked scared and that I was going to do anything to make sure you were gonna be okay." He looked back at the ground. "I wanted to save you."

"and that makes you a hero." They both sat there in silence for a few more minutes before she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Whether you believe it or not Jayne. You are a hero. My hero." She smiled at him and then left him alone with his thoughts.

**Alright let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome so please read and review**


	16. Chapter 16

**I want to thank everyone who has favorited, reviewed or started following this story. It really means a lot to me. I also want to thank my awesome beta Irishbrneyes. I do not own anything and no profit was made. **

River enjoyed these fleeting moments with the crew, the moments where everyone was laughing and generally enjoying everyone's company. Even Simon and Jayne seemed to be getting along better than normal. The only one missing from the table was her current partner in crime Wash who was busy rerouting the course so they wouldn't run into any Alliance, for River's sake. Wash had been helping out in all of River's practical jokes as of late and frankly she was thrilled. They had painted Jayne's bar of soap with clear nail polish. They had switched Inara's incense around, rearranged Simon's infirmary and saran wrapped Mal to the co-pilot's chair when he fell asleep. The only people who had escaped their wrath were Zoe, they were both terrified of her, and Kaylee, who they felt to bad to prank. Book was in the middle of telling a funny story about his time at the Abbey.

"No, no, no." Zoe gasped for breath as she held her stomach. She couldn't stop laughing. "That is not true."

"I swear it is!" Book exclaimed.

"Surely one of you must have told him!" Inara had barely caught her breath before speaking.

"No! There wasn't one among the brethren had the heart to say anything. He was so proud of it!"

River smiled at Wash as he entered the mess. He gave her a slight nod and a wink as he took his spot next to Zoe. River didn't notice, but Simon took great joy in Jayne's grimace at the exchange between the two.

"What? What was he proud of? Who he?" Wash asked trying to catch up. No one was paying any attention to him.

"Looked rather natty, truth be told!" Book continued to laugh as he wiped tears away from his eyes.

"I want to hear about the natty thing." He looked around the table for anyone to answer. "What was natty?"

"Shepherd Book was just tellin' funny stories about his days at the monastery." Kaylee grinned at him.

"Monastic humor. I miss out on all the fun." He looked into the serving bowl. "And all the food, too, apparently…"

"Now just who do you think you're married to?" Zoe grinned as she lifted the napkin off the plate in front of her revealing lots of food.

"I love my wife." He smiled kissing her on the cheek. "She treats me so well."

"Yes and she will continue to treat you well if you and River do not prank her." He looked between the two who couldn't control their laughter. "Ever."

"Have no fear lambie-toes River and I are far too terrified to ever prank you." Wash smiled. River felt an icy cold glare on her back and turned around to see Jayne staring at her.

"Are you the reason my soap wouldn't lather and I had to use that girly stuff yer brother left behind." Jayne raised an eyebrow causing her to jump up from her seat and take off down the hall giggling.

"Git back here ya brat!" Mal watched as they disappeared.

"So we got a course set?" He turned his attention back to Wash.

"We do. Took a little creative navigating, but we should make it all the way to Greenleaf without running afoul of any Alliance patrols. Or a single living soul for that matter."

"Good. Way it should be." Mal nodded. They all turned to the sound of River shrieking as Jayne undoubtedly put something on her. They all turned and grinned as Jayne reentered the mess with River slung over his shoulder her face completely covered in shaving cream. Kaylee had used the distraction of the two youngest crew members to sneak into the kitchen area and grab Simon's cake.

"Care to make the first incision, Doctor Tam?" Kaylee grinned as Simon looked back in shock and blushed. "Happy Birthday, Simon."

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone else yelled out variously.

"Well this is… I didn't… How did you know?" He turned and smirked at his young niece who was busy wiping shaving cream off her face. "River, did you-?"

"No I most certainly did not." She glared. "I remember the last time I tried to celebrate your birthday. You were very angry."

"Yes. Well your birthday present was highly inappropriate." Simon smirked at her. He could laugh about it now, but at the time he had not found it so funny.

"Why what did the little prankster get ya?" Mal smiled knowing he couldn't pass up this story.

"I hired a stripper to come to his dorm then called all his friends to join him." River smiled.

"Hell doc sounds like the best birthday present ever to me." Jayne said knowing that there was more to the story.

"Yes well it seems River left out the part where the stripper was a man." Simon narrowed his eyes at River as she leaned on Jayne giggling. Everyone else was doing their best to stifle their laughter, it wasn't working.

"River didn't rat ya out doc, I did." Wash finally spoke up when the laughing stopped.

"You?"

"Seems a warrant popped up on the cortex for aiding in River's running away. Congratulations doc you are officially a fugitive." Mal smiled at him.

"Oh. I see. Well that's…" Everyone could see the worry on Simon's face. "Really?"

"Hope you like it." Kaylee smiled at him trying to redirect his attention back to the cake and away from his fugitive status. "Couldn't get a hold of no flour, so it's mostly protein. In fact, it's pretty much what we just had for supper. But I tried to make the frosting as chocolaty tasting as possible."

"Thank you. I'm really very deeply moved." Simon looked around the table, making sure to save his best smile for Kaylee.

"Well deeply move yourself over there and blow out them candles so we can try a slice." Jayne eyed the cake carefully. "OW!" he turned his gaze on River as she reared back to smack him in the arm one more time. "What?"

"Be nice." She said through her teeth as Simon went to blow out the candles. Jayne opened his mouth to say something when the lights start to flicker and a loud grinding noise sounded throughout the ship. They all wait with baited breath for a moment as the engine began its normal humming once more.

"What the hell was that?" Jayne looked about the room.

"Maybe just a hiccup. I'll check it out." Kaylee shrugged moving towards the engine room.

"I'll take a look at the helm." Wash said standing up. Just as Kaylee reached the door a loud explosion sounded. It took no time for Zoe to cross the room and throw the young mechanic to the floor, before a giant ball of fire blew through the door knocking Zoe against the table and then against the wall. River felt something hard hit her as she was knocked to the ground. She knew it was Jayne by his smell; he was shielding her with his own body.

"ZOE!" they all turned and saw Wash come running from the foredeck and then stop dead in his tracks as he saw Zoe laying on the ground motionless. He looked for just a moment before he ran to her side along with Simon, while Book and Inara began to check on Kaylee. River heard footsteps running towards the aft deck to shut the door. River pulled herself out from underneath Jayne in time to see Mal being thrown back by the force of yet another fireball.

"DADDY!" River cried out as she rushed to his side. Mal didn't even take the time to register the pain as he bounced back up quickly and turn his attention to Jayne who had been following River closely.

"Seal everything that leads below decks. Do it now." Jayne nodded his understanding and bolted from the room as Mal made his way to the bridge. River wandered back into the mess. Kaylee was sitting up and reassuring everyone was okay, but Zoe had yet to regain consciousness.

"She gonna be okay?" Wash asked as he held Zoe's limp hand between his own.

"I need my med kit." Simon moved as quickly as he could, but he didn't want to run. He didn't want Wash to know just how seriously his wife was injured. As Simon turned towards the foredeck he came face to face with a stern looking Jayne.

"Where you think you're going?" Jayne quickly stopped him by blocking his path.

"Zoe's badly hurt. I need my medical supplies."

"Sorry, Doc. Nobody leaves." Jayne felt bad he really did, but there was nothing he could do now.

"If you don't let me through, she could die." Simon pleaded, but the next words out of Jayne's mouth silenced him quickly.

"I let you through—and we all die."

* * *

River watched in horror as Jayne, Mal and Wash carried Zoe's body into the infirmary. She quickly rushed in to attempt to help in whatever way she could. She began to pull out medical supplies Simon might need burn cream, a scanner, gauze. Anything she could think of. She ushered everyone, but Mal and Wash out and then quickly hustled things in and out of Simon's capable hands.

"No sign of burning. Must be internal. I'll have to do a scan." Simon began to hook Zoe up as quickly as possible to the necessary equipment. Mal watched as River and Simon did their best to help Zoe. He turned to Kaylee who seemed to be in shock just outside the infirmary doors.

"Kaylee." Nothing. "Kaylee." She still didn't see him. "Look at me." He sighed deeply before continuing. "I need you up in the engine room, figuring out what caused this."

"She ain't movin'…" Kaylee felt her face grow warm and her eyes water. Mal looked back to Zoe not comprehending exactly what she was saying. "Serenity's not movin'"

"I know it." He nodded doing his best to remain cool. "Which is why we gotta suss out what it was happened so we can get her going again, right?" Kaylee only nodded trying to hold back her tears. "Think you can do that?"

"Yes, Cap'n"

"That's a good girl." She quickly turned to handle the engine as Mal turned and wandered back into the infirmary.

"Come on, baby. Stay with me. You're strong. Strongest person I've ever met. You can do this." River had stood far back out of Simon's way and was now watching Wash stand vigil by his wife's side.

"She gonna make it?" Jayne asks. River turned to see Jayne had walked into the infirmary, not knowing what else to do. She gave him a questioning glance as she noticed that he was holding his right arm. Mal noticed it too, but remained quiet as he addressed Wash.

"Wash." No answer. "Wash, I need you on the bridge."

"Zoe's hurt." Wash didn't even bother looking away.

"And the doctor's gonna do everything he can. Meantime, I gotta have you on that bridge. We need to know how bad it is."

"How bad? It's bad, okay, 'sir?'" Wash mocked him Mal knew not to take it personally. "My wife may be dying, here. So my feeling is it's pretty damn bad."

"Wash…"

"I'm not leaving her, Mal." Wash finally turned glaring at the Captain. "Don't ask me again."

"I wasn't askin'. I was tellin'."

"Chur ni-duh." Wash says turning back to Zoe.

"I'll go." River volunteers herself. "We all know I can do it. I'll go. Wash needs to be here." Wash gives her a nod, it's the only thing he can muster right now, but she knows if it was appropriate he would be smiling. Mal thought about it for a moment before nodding. River gave Jayne one last questioning look as he hid his arm from her and then made her way towards the bridge. Mal turned to look at him too before following his daughter out of the infirmary.

* * *

Mal returned to the mess. The table had been flipped over and food and cake was thrown about. He then turned to see the slight burn marks where the fireball had burned through the ship. It took him just a moment before he realized where the burns were and where River had been sitting. He did recall Jayne throwing her to the ground and then shielding her with his body. He thought for a moment before making his way back to the infirmary and pulling Jayne aside.

"You're hurt." He looked at Jayne for answers. "You got burned." Jayne simply nodded. "Do you want to have it bandaged?" Jayne shook his head. "Because River could do it real quick."

"No!" Jayne put up his arms. "River don't need to know I got hurt. She's got other things to worry on."

"You got that shielding her didn't you?" motioning to the bright red patch of skin on the back of his arm.

"Yea."

"Thank you." Mal clapped him on the shoulder lightly before moving off to go find Kaylee.

She was sitting in the common area with a concerned look on her face. She was pale and looked worried thinking the Captain was gonna bring her more bad news about Zoe.

"Zoe gonna be okay?" She can't help her worrying, the sky could be falling on her head and she'd still be more concerned with everyone else.

"You let the doctor worry about Zoe. Tell me what you know."

"Catalyzer on the port compression coil blew. That's where the trouble started." She was doing her best to keep her attention on the Captain, but he saw her eyes dart back in the direction of the infirmary every once in awhile.

"I need that in Captain Dummy talk, Kaylee." He tried to make her smile. It didn't work.

"We're dead in the water."

"Can you fix it?"

"I could try…" She looked sadly at him.

"Just get us limpin'. That's all I need." She nodded, but he could tell that she had more to say. "What? What is it?"

"Well. It's worse'n just the coil."

"How can it be worse?"

"Main-life support's down on account of the engine being dead."

"Right. But we got auxiliary—"

"No. We don't. It ain't even on. Explosion musta knocked it out." She quickly cut him off.

"So what are we breathin'?" Things couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Whatever got pumped into the atmo before the explosion shut it all down."

Neither person saw or heard Jayne enter the common area. He had picked up the tail end of their conversation and knew how serious things were.

"Mosta that oxygen got ate up by the fire when it went out the door." He gave them both a grim nod as he spoke.

"Whatever's left is what we got." Kaylee sighed as she turned back to Mal.

"How long?" mal asked.

"Couple a hours, maybe." Kaylee shrugged not really sure of an exact time frame. They all turned at the sound of footsteps. Simon was walking towards them seemingly proud of himself.

"She's stabilized. I think she's out of the woods." He then took in everyone's demeanor and frowned "What?" Jayne quickly realized this may be his last few moments with River and without another word bolted towards the bridge.

* * *

River didn't know what to do. There was no one around to help them and from the looks on everyone's faces earlier things didn't look good. She wondered if Zoe was okay and what was wrong with Jayne's arm. She didn't have to wait long for the answers about Jayne because he had just raided the infirmary and was walking onto the bridge.

"Hey Riv." She turned and smiled sadly at him. "Need your help." He grinned raising up the gauze and burn cream.

"What happened?!" She motioned for him to sit in down.

"Got burned earlier." He shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" She cried checking the burn on the back of his arm. Luckily it didn't look too bad. A second degree burn possibly, nothing a little burn cream wouldn't fix.

"Everyone had more important things to worry about." He smiled as she carefully put some burn cream on it. He gave her a strange look when she didn't cover the burn.

"I can't cover it." She said noticing his questioning glance. "It will only make it worse. The heat has to escape. There are no cuts so there's no point in covering it." He nodded. "How's Zoe?"

"She's stable, but still out. Yer Uncle thinks she's out of the woods." He didn't want to meet her gaze. She would know something else was wrong.

"What's wrong." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothin'"

"Jayne you are a horrible liar. Something is wrong. Now what is it?"

"Life supports out." He sighed.

"What about the auxiliary life support." She looked to the ground when she saw his head shake.

"How much air do we have left?"

"Couple a hours." He couldn't lie to her, not now. "Maybe."

"We won't suffocate." She looked up at him. "We'll freeze first." She felt her eyes water.

"I know, but I don't think we should tell everyone else." He nodded. He hadn't been out in the black long, just a few years, but he knew that when life support went you freeze before the air left your lungs.

"I don't want to die." She could no longer stop the tears.

"You are not gonna die." He said grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her face close to his. "You wanna know why?" She nodded looking up at him. "Cause I'm your hero remember. Long as I'm still alive you will be too. Gotta storm in and save ya." She felt mildly better. Wash walked onto the bridge and saw the two youngest members of the crew trying to comfort each other.

"River I can take it from here." He smiled down at the young girl.

"Alright Wash thank you. If I hear anything about Zoe. I'll tell you right away." She stood to leave the bridge and stopped by the door waiting for Jayne patiently.

"Thanks my little partner in crime." He teased trying to make her feel better. She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"No problem Wash." She called out as Jayne led her away. He quickly got the beacon set up and sent it out minutes before Mal made his way towards him. They looked at each other silently before Mal opened his mouth.

"You get that beacon sent?" Mal said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it's sent." Wash still wanted to punch him for trying to make him leave Zoe.

"Good."

"Pointless." Wash muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir. It's a brilliant plan, I'm sure we'll all be saved." Wash rolled his eyes.

"Getting a little weary of this attitude, Wash."

"Are you? Well I'm very sorry about that, sir. I guess the news that we're all gonna be purple and bloated and fetal in a few hours has made me little snippy."

"It's possible that someone might pick up the signal."

"No, Mal. It's not possible. Nobody's gonna pick up the damn signal. You wanted us 'flying under the radar' Remember? Well, that's where we are: out of range of anyone or anything."

"I was just trying to keep River safe." Mal yelled at him. He was sure everyone could hear their argument over the ship. "Make it go further."

"What?"

"Make the signal go further." He didn't think he was being unclear.

"Can't make it go further."

"Not if all you're gonna do is sit here and whine about it, no."

"What do you expect me to do, Mal?" Wash spat out at him. Wash was a fantastic pilot, but even he knew that he wasn't a miracle worker.

"Whatever you have to. And if you can't do it from here, then you put on a suit and get out on the side of the boat and…"

"And What?" Wash was never one to yell, but Mal had pushed him too far this time. "Wave my arms around?"

"Wave your arms around, jump up and down. Divert the nav sats to the transmitter. Whatever."

"Divert the…? Right. Because teenage pranks are fun when you're about to die!" My god was Mal a complete moron.

"Give the beacon a boost, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, Mal. It'd boost the signal, but even if some passerby did happen to receive, all it'd do is muck up their navigation." Yes he was a complete moron. What was he doing captaining a ship on his own.

"Could be that's true."

"Damn right it's true! They'd be forced to stop and dig out our signal before they could go anyplace!" Wash thought to himself for a moment. What Mal said actually made sense, maybe he wasn't a moron. "Well, maybe I should do that, then!"

"Maybe you should!" He had no idea why he was still yelling, but it took his mind off of imminent death.

"Okay!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"HEY!" They both whipped around to see Jayne standing there with a blanket in hand. He quickly stepped between the fighting men and glared.

"What the guay do you two think you're doing?! Fightin' at a time like this." He thought back to his talk with River. It was best to let everyone think they would suffocate before they would freeze. Didn't want to cause a panic. "You'll use up all the air!" He yelled as he made his way to the common area where River was waiting for him.

* * *

Everyone was sitting as close together as possible. Kaylee and Simon, each wearing thick coats, were leaning on each other. Inara had the best coat on the boat and didn't need to stay close to anyone. River and Jayne were huddled under the same blanket he had been carrying earlier. No one could see, but they were holding hands trying their best to remain calm.

"Well. As you're all keenly aware… seems we, uh, run into a… bit of a situation. Engine's down. Life support's on the fritz. And I got nine people here all wanting to breathe. Could take turns, I suppose." He tried to joke, but he caught the glance between River and Jayne and knew that no one found it funny. "But that doesn't really appear to be an option. Truth is… ain't got a whole lot of options at this juncture." He paused looking around the room at everyone's worried faces. "So no instead of focusing on what we don't got—time to talk about what it is we do. And what we got are two shuttles. Short range. Won't go far. But they each got heat, and they each got air. Last longer than what's left in Serenity."

"Long enough to reach someplace?" Simon asked hopeful.

"No." Mal sighed.

"So… Where will we go, then?" Book asked quietly.

"Far as you can get. We send both shuttles off in exact opposite directions—betters the chance of somebody being seen, maybe getting picked up." He paused again in thought. "Shepherd Book, Kaylee and Jayne'll ride with Inara in her shuttle. Doc, you and your sister will go with Wash and Zoe—seein' as Zoe still needs some doctorin' and you two are the best people for that." River looked at Jayne and squeezed his hand hard. They were going to be separated. How could he be her hero if he wasn't with her. She knew the truth, he wasn't going to save her, they were all going to die. She then thought about what Mal had said.

"What about you?" She asked already knowing his answer.

"Four people to a shuttle. That's the arrangement. Even's the odds. I'm staying with Serenity."

"Cap'n" Kaylee said sadly looking at him.

"We sent out a beacon. Even managed to boost it a little. Now, if by some chance we do get a response, there's gotta be someone here to answer." Nobody said anything while they waited for him to give further instructions. "Let's get those shuttles prepped." He turned to watch as Wash began to walk towards the bridge. "Wash—shuttles are that way."

"I know. But like you said—someone might answer the beacon. And when they do, I want to make sure you're able to call us all back. Won't take me a minute." Mal nodded and Wash booked it towards the bridge.

"Jayne, get shuttle two ready. I'll see to Inara's" He looked around the room eyes finally landing on River's. She looked so sad and he felt terrible, but there was nothing he could do. "Let's get moving. Take only what you need."

* * *

River wandered towards shuttle two and waited for Jayne to notice her there. He was so lost in thought that when he turned around to see her he jumped. She didn't know what to say. This was probably the last time she would see him and it felt like someone was ripping her heart out.

"Stay warm." She smiled sadly at him. "Dress in layers and when it starts to get close everyone should remain close together to help generate heat. When the oxygen starts to go try and sleep. You'll use less that way." She knew she was rambling, but she had to say something. "You're pretty big." She teased. "You should be able to help generate plenty of heat."

"What about you?" He asked with his mouth hanging open. "What is gonna happen to you?"

"I'm not very big." She smiled weakly. "Not a lot of body fat. Unfortunately I'll be the first to go."

"No. That's not allowed." He said dragging her towards his bunk. He had a plan on how he would help keep River safe. Even if he couldn't be there, he could still be her hero.

* * *

Mal watched everyone begin to put things on the shuttle. The only two who seemed unable to load things up were River and Jayne. Jayne was busy throwing a sweater over her head and handing her a pair of gloves. It wasn't much but it would keep her warm. Mal knew that Jayne was doing his best to keep River safe, even if the only thing he could do was give her more layers. River smiled sadly at Mal as she watched Jayne make his way down to speak to him.

"I went ahead and closed off all below deck vents. Diverted what there is to the bridge. It ain't much. So my advice, seal of everything tight behind you when you go back up. Might buy you some time. " Mal looked up and saw Inara and River trying to comfort each other. If he was honest Inara could have looked like River's mother in a family picture. Dark hair, Dark eyes same beautiful face. The only difference was their skin tone. "And I prepped a suit for you. It's hanging in the foredeck. When the time comes, you can just…"

"I won't be needing it, but thanks." Mal quickly cut him off trying to sound as grateful as possible.

"Okay. Well." Jayne waited for a moment and then walked towards the stairs where River and Inara were descending. Jayne looked to the younger girl and pulled her blanket firmer around her shoulders before hugging her tightly and moving towards the shuttle. Inara said nothing as she watched River run into Mal's arms and begin to cry. Mal kissed her gently on the forehead and passed her off to Inara who quietly walked her towards the opposite shuttle. As River took her seat next to Simon Inara made her way to her own shuttle giving the Captain one last sad glance. He heard the shuttles detach and then began to make his rounds of the ship.

Jayne wasn't wrong he did stand a better chance if he shut all the doors tightly before taking his spot on the bridge. It was freezing and he saw his breath come out of his mouth with every breath he took. It was silent and as he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself he had thought to himself he had never felt so alone. He regretted for just a moment the decision to stay with Serenity. TO not hold Inara close to him as they made their way through space. To not tell River everything he knew about her mother. He felt his thoughts begin to slow as sleep took hold of his brain. _Maybe this is for the best._ He thought to himself._ Just sleep. Fall asleep and never wake up._

* * *

"**Firefly Serenity… This is the private salvage S.S. Walden. Receiving your distress beacon, do you read?"** He couldn't be sure he hear it through the static. Maybe his brain was dying and it was all just his imagination. He looked at the screen for a moment and saw nothing but a white screen. He shrugged pulling the blanket, which had slipped off his shoulders, back up before closing his eyes once more. It's quiet for just a moment and then he hears something. He pries his eyes open and see a ship facing his direction he immediately hit the button on the monitor to begin a transmission.

"Name is Captain Malcolm Reynolds. This is Serenity. We are in need of assistance. Our Catalyzer blew and both life support systems are down. I am in need of the part. If you can help me it would be much appreciated." He waited patiently for a response. His heart jumped in his chest as the image of another man come over the vid monitor.

"Names Captain Walden. I'm sorry for your troubles, Captain. They sound many. But you do understand I can't invite you on board my vessel. I got folks here to consider. They depend on me to make the right choices. And I don't know you." He gave Mal a stern looking indicating that he knew how dire the situation was, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"I'd do the same myself, were the situation reversed. 'Course, one of my idiot crew'd probably talk me into changing my mind… you got idiots?" Mal smirked as he thought over the crew.

"No."

"Well I'm not looking for a ride, Captain. Just a little push is all."

"Right. Your mechanical trouble. Compression coil, you say?" He gives him a quizzical look trying to determine if Mal was lying.

"It was the catalyzer." He watched Captain Walden's eyes narrow.

"Not even the coil? Catalyzer's a nothing part, Captain."

"It's nothing 'till you don't got one. Then it appears to be everything." Mal shrugged.

"It is possible we might have something that'd do you. We just come from a big salvage job off Ita Moon. Picked the bones' a half a dozen junk heaps not unlike the one you're sittin' in."

"Mmmm." He was slowly getting more tired and having a hard time concentrating.

"I suppose we could dock, take a look around, see if there ain't some way we might come to terms. That's if we have the part—" Captain Walden looked off screen for a moment and seemed to be conversing with someone. "I'm told we do."

"I would appreciate it."

"Trouble is… how can I know for certain your story's true? Ambush could be waiting for me and my people on the other side."

"You can plainly see both my shuttle been launched, just like I said. And I'm sure by now you scanned me. You know I got no life support."

"I don't expect to see any weapons when we board." He smirked at the Captain.

"And I do expect to see that engine part before I open the door."

"I feel like maybe we can do business." Something about the way the man smiles sets Mal on edge and he quickly stuck his gun in the holster. He had a feeling he was gonna need it.

* * *

Mal could tell how quickly the air was running out. His breath was growing shallow as he stood waiting by airlock waiting for Captain Walden. The air running out was nothing compared to the biting cold that had infiltrated the ship. He jumped as there was a loud rap on the airlock window. He saw the catalyzer and quickly slammed on the button to open the door. As the door opened there was a tremendous rush of warm air into the ship. He began to take deep breaths taking in as much oxygen as possible. He began to feel lightheaded and had to grab onto the controls to steady himself. He opened his eyes and saw Captain Walden and four of his crew walk onto the ship with their guns aimed on Mal.

"Check him." He motioned towards Mal and one man came over and tossed Mal's gun behind him. "Search the ship. Start in the cockpit, work your way down." He turned to another crew member who quickly took off towards the back of the ship.

"His what you meant by 'ambush'" Mal smirked at him.

"We're just verifying your story." He turned back around to the other crew members "You find anyone on board not supposed to be—you shoot 'em."

"Thought we were gonna be reasonable about this?"

"Can't ever be too careful, now can we?" Captain Walden smiled at him as the crew members moved about the ship leaving to stone unturned. It was quiet for a few moments while Mal and Walden sized each other up carefully. They both turned to the sound of approaching feet.

"Ship's clear, Captain." One of the crew members said joining them in the cargo bay.

"You check the engine room?"

"It's like he said. Catalyzer's blown. That's all he needs."

"Now anything that's worth anything's really right here in this cargo bay. You take a look around, decide what you think's fair." Mal motioned about the room to all the unopened crates.

"Already decided." Walden quickly produced a gun and shot mal in the side. He fell backwards right next to Jayne's workbench. "We're taking your ship." He turned back around to face his crew thinking Mal was no longer a concern. "Billy, get this plugged in. Jesse, call Stern over here. You and him'll pilot this pile of go se out of here." Mal looked up and saw something shine. A gun! Jayne had left a gun! Thank God for mercenaries! "We'll get it as far as—" Walden stopped as he heard a gun cocking. He turned slowly and came face to face with the barrel of a gun.

"Jesse, don't call Stern. Billy, leave the catalyzer." Mal said without his eyes leaving the other Captain.

"Do as he says." He said raising his hands and backing slowly towards the airlock. One of the crew members set the catalyzer on the floor and followed his Captain's lead

"Take your people and go."

"You would have done the same." Walden said trying to reassure himself more than anyone else.

"We can already see I haven't. Now get the hell off my ship."

* * *

Mal moved as fast as he could towards the engine room as soon as the salvage ship detached from Serenity. As he ran he looked back to notice the trail of blood behind him. He did his best to reattach the part, but his fingers were beginning to lose feeling due to the cold and he dropped it just under the engine. Time seemed to slow down as he reached for the part. He wasn't sure what was gonna happen or even if he could get the part in correctly, but he had to try. It was in. Now he just had to get to that gorram button Wash had hooked up. He had to get them back. Just as He got within range of hitting it her passed out. Dropping to the floor as blackness enveloped him.

_He remembered the day he first met Sarah. She had come into town about two weeks prior and was now working the register at the local store. He had gone to get some fresh seed for his Ma and watched with amusement as a small woman with long dark hair and milky white skin kicked some guy out of the store. She literally kicked him out of the store, with her foot hitting him square in the ass she screamed. _

"_And don't ever let me catch you trying to steal from this store again!" He smirked at her as he made his way into the store. He went about his business, with his mind totally consumed by this small woman who seemed to have no clue that she had just wiped the floor with a guy twice her size. _

"_Can I help you?" She smiled sweetly at him and he felt as if his whole world stopped. _

"_Yea I was just needin' some seeds." He handed her the list carefully and she looked it over and began to hand him the correct things. "So I don't recognize ya. Ya new in town?" She smiled up at him sweetly. _

"_Yea. My name is Sarah. Sarah Keenan. Nice to meet you." She sounded so formal definitely someone from the core. _

"_You move here with your husband?" He was trying to not sound desperate. _

"_No. Nothing like that. I just needed to get away."_

"_So you chose Shadow?" He looked out the window to the empty fields of grass. _

"_I happen to think it is a beautiful planet." She glared. _

"_Yea well it is. If you know where to look." He winked at her. _

"_Is that an offer?" she teased. _

"_You know what I think it is. I can show ya around iffen' ya want." He gave her his best leer, but it only made her laugh. Her laughter sounded like music and he knew in that moment he wanted to spend the rest of his life listening to it. _

"_That sounds lovely." She handed him his bags "I'll see you around say seven…" _

"_Mal." He nodded to her "Malcolm Reynolds." _

"_Well I'll be waiting Mr. Reynolds." She smiled one last time before helping the next customer. He knew in that moment she was the one he had spent his entire life waiting for and she had no idea what was coming. _

Mal woke up to the sound of Inara and Jayne arguing about blood. He looked around to see everyone, but River in there smiling at him. Zoe was laying down on the table next to him while Wash sat next to her. Zoe was the first to see that Mal woke up.

"Welcome back, sir." She smiled weakly at him.

"I go someplace?" Mal asked still not quite aware of what was going on.

"Very nearly." Book nodded solemnly.

"We thought we'd lost you." Inara smiled wiping away some stray tears.

"Where's River?" He asked trying to sit up.

"She's cleaning up the blood." Jayne sad quietly. "Didn't want ya seein' it when ya woke up."

"Wash , you okay?" He asked finally realizing that Wash was hooked up to an IV giving him blood. He didn't realize that this was going on seeing as he was still out of it, so Wash laughed slightly as he answered.

"Yeah, Mal. I'm Fine."

"Got a thing in ya." He said motioning to the IV

"Yeah." Wash smirked.

"Try not to speak. You're heavily medicated and you've lost a lot of blood." Simon said trying to get him to fall back asleep.

"Oh." He nodded his understanding to the Doc. "Thought I ordered ya'll off the ship?"

"Told ya." Jayne glared at Inara as he whispered under his breath. "It was them! They come back first! Their shuttle was already here when we docked."

"I call you back?" He couldn't remember if he had hit the button or not.

"No, Mal. You didn't" Wash shook his head.

"I take full responsibility, Captain." Zoe said with a straight face.

"That decision saved your life." Simon tried to reassure him, but no one seemed to be paying attention.

"It'll never happen again, sir." Zoe smirked

"Good, And thank you. I'm grateful."

"You are?" Now Jayne was just confused.

"My pleasure, sir." A look passed between the two and Jayne suddenly felt left out.

"Hey! That ain't… We'da been here first! But there's something wrong with 'nara's shuttle! She done somethin' to it, Mal Smells funny." Jayne gave Inara an accusatory glance.

"I've told you—that's incense." She rolled her eyes at his stupidity.

"Whatever." He scoffed.

"Go get River Jayne!" Inara yelled before pushing him out of the infirmary door. Jayne didn't need to be told twice and set off to find River.

* * *

River had spent the entire time cleaning the blood off the floor. She had even managed to get the infirmary cleaned up while Simon was patching Mal up. That had definitely been a sight. Simon almost tripped twice. She had been adamant though that Mal shouldn't wake up to a dirty ship. If she was being honest with herself she just wanted to get her mind off the fact that Mal might not make it. She didn't even stopped scrubbing the floor when Jayne walked up behind her.

"Hey Riv." He said lightly.

"Jayne." She continued to scrub the floor vigoursly.

"River you need to come to the infirmary." He said grabbing her shoulder.

"NO." She said throwing the brush across the cargo bay. "

"Umm okay that was a little overreaction." He raised an eyebrow.

"Just tell me is he still alive?"

"yea he's up and kicking." He smirked as she jumped up excitedly p from the floor. "And he's asking for ya." She grabbed his hand and immediately bolted towards the infirmary. Mal smiled up at her sleepily. She knew he wasn't quite there.

"Sarah?" He smiled.

"No. It's me." She grinned taking his hand. "It's River. Your daughter."

"My… daughter." He didn't seem to register that.

"Yea. Your daughter." She patted his hand gently before setting it back down on his chest. "I'm gonna let you rest now. I'll see you tomorrow." He watched her for a moment.

"Hey did I ever tell you about yer ma?" He called out to her as she reached the door.

"no, but there will be plenty of time for that tomorrow." She smiled at him before walking out of the room. Jayne watched him for just a moment.

"Jayne." He called out to him.

"Yea mal." He turned to him slowly.

"You're gonna take care of her right?"

"yeah… Mal I'm gonna take care of her for as long as I can."

"Good." Mal nodded. "She's gonna fight ya. She's just like her ma ya know." Mal was beginning to slur his words.

"Yea well they way I figure it I can get plenty of advice from you on how to reel her in." He grinned before walking out of the infirmary to allow Mal to get some rest. Mal thought for a moment about how he should be upset about Jayne trying to court River, but he wasn't feeling much of anything now. So he allowed himself to fall asleep and dream about his time with Sarah, because her name was Sarah not Abigail. Didn't matter what the prissy doc said.

**Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please read and review**


	17. Chapter 17

**I want to thank everyone for favoriting, following or reviewing this story. I also want to thank my super awesome beta Irishbrneyes who even though she was sick, still worked her butt off to get this done. I know that this is out of order from the show, but it's AU and it's my story so who cares.**

They were transporting cows again. Mal swore never again after the last time, but they needed the money and here they were. Jiangyin was a small border world that Simon would never have even considered stepping foot on while still living on Osiris, but here he was getting ready to offer any help he could to get this job done faster, and get he and River away from this planet. Most of the cattle had been moved off the ship, but there were still a few stragglers that Jayne was trying to move and as a few passed him he became distracted stepping right into a cow pie. He heard Jayne's laughter before he saw him.

"'Bout time you broke in them pretty shoes, Doc." Jayne chuckled at the face Simon was making, and then quickly turned his attention back to the cattle. "Yah! Get along!" He yelled smacking them on the rear as they ambled slowly along. Simon scowled at Jayne as he passed by. He had no idea what River saw in him. Not that she admitted to being in a relationship with Jayne, or even liking him in any way other than a friend. He saw the way she looked at Jayne, and how she spoke about him. To Simon he was, and would always be, just some lowly rim trash. Not at all good for the likes of anyone let alone his niece. River, while she wasn't one hundred percent core, was graceful, beautiful and she grew up in the lap of luxury with a well thought of family name. He was beneath her and Simon made sure that Jayne knew what he thought of him spending so much time around his young niece.

"You know, they walk just as easy if you lead 'em." Mal said at Jayne strangely. Simon turned when he heard Mal's voice behind him.

"I like smackin' 'em" Jayne smirked as he hit another cow that walked past him. Mal rolled his eyes as he walked towards the corral they had set up shortly after touching down.

_Uneducated__, uncouth, hulking ape!_ Simon thought as his eyes bored into the back of Jayne's head. Sensing someone was watching him he turned to send a cutting glance at Simon, but was side-tracked by River standing just behind the Doc. She was wearing another second-hand sundress; bought just to make her fit in, along with a pair of combat boots. She stood there with her nose scrunched up looking at the cow pies, trying to figure out the best way down the ramp without stepping on the offending items. Jayne laughed at her lightly before jogging over to a clear spot next to her and crouching down. She shrieked happily clapping her hands with excitement before jumping up onto his back wrapping her arms around his neck. Simon watched as River moved past him on Jayne's back and gave him a happy wave.

"Good morning Simon." Simon waved at her, not knowing what else to do about these little developments, and followed them down towards the pen.

Jayne moved to where Zoe, Wash and Book were tying off the last portion of the enclosure. River smiled at all of them as Jayne carefully set her down placing her gently on the top rung of the fence. She watched as Simon came closer eyeing the cattle carefully. She could tell that they made him very nervous. He had never really seen a cow before, except in pictures, and he wasn't quite sure what to do around them.

"Hope this corral's strong enough to hold them. 'Shepherds' a purely figurative title, you know." Book said pulling River from her own thoughts.

"Next time we smuggle stock let's make it something smaller." Zoe laughed as she took a seat next to River.

"Yeah, we should start dealing in those black-market beagles I've heard about" River giggled at Wash's joke causing Jayne to glare at the older man. Wash caught the look, but didn't say anything. Simon had moved closer to the corral and was only a hundred feet away from it when he tripped grabbing onto one of the rungs yelling a little too loudly. Mal seeing where this was eventually going walked over to Simon in an attempt to get him away from the cattle before he spooked them and caused a stampede.

"Doc, maybe you should get clear of the work." Mal suggested not really caring if he sounded rude in the process. "Maybe you should go for a walk in town. I saw Kaylee and Inara heading that way. Besides it'll be good for you."

"What's going on?" River asked looking at her father with an accusing stare. She knew that Simon had the ability to grate on people's nerves, but he was _really_trying, and she wasn't going to allow her uncle to be picked on. Even by her own father.

"I'm fixing to do some business." He whispered to River as Simon tried to listen in. "I can't be herding these steers and keeping your uncle from killing himself."

"He didn't mean any harm." She said giving Simon a nod of approval.

"I never figured he did, River." He sighed. He wasn't going to come out looking good in this situation, and he knew it. "But when a man engages in clandestine dealings, he has his preference for things being smooth. Simon makes things not be smooth."

"Right. Well I'm very sorry that my Uncle tipped off anyone to your cunningly concealed herd of cows." Rolling her eyes River sighed heavily. She couldn't really argue her father's point. Simon did have the ability to get everyone's attention very quickly, and when you're a fugitive that's not exactly a bright idea.

"I guess we'll go for a walk then. Come on Simon." River smiled reaching got his hand, and he gave a quick nod. He was just excited to get his dear, little niece away from that ape.

"Got room fer 'nother?" Simon stopped mid-stride knowing exactly who was speaking. Although he had high hopes that it wasn't/ He looked back slowly shooting Jayne an icy look, but River was already looking at Mal to give the final okay for Jayne to leave with them. Mal simply nodded and Jayne yet again crouched down for River to climb aboard.

* * *

All the stores in the small town were dusty and dilapidated, but they had a certain charm that Kaylee just loved. It reminded her of home. The current store they were in had a few knick knacks and several rows of farm equipment. Nothing they really needed, but it was something to do to bide their time.

"Does it seem every supply store on every 'water planet has the same five rag dolls and the same wood carvings of… what is this? A duck?" Inara pointed to a wood carving of some bird that was obviously done in a hurry.

"That's a swan." Kaylee giggled and then turned her head to the side to really look at the carving. "I like it."

"You do?!" Inara was surprised. She knew Kaylee wasn't what one would call sophisticated, but she thought, she had hoped, she had better taste than this.

"Looks like it was made with, you know, longing. Made by a person really longed to see a swan." Kaylee smiled as she stroked the carving carefully.

"Perhaps they'd only heard of them by rough description." Inara scoffed and turned around to look at the other items there.

"You think this would make a nice gift?" Kaylee held up a small decorative plate for Inara to see.

"A gift? For whom?"

"I just kinda like it." She smiled "It's rich, you know?"

"Ohh. For Simon." Inara was well aware of the crush that the two had on each other. Simon was a master of sticking his foot in his mouth and Kaylee had a tendency to take things a little too personal. Neither was very good at telling each other about their feelings.

"I didn't say that." Kaylee blushed.

"You don't do a very good job of hiding your interest." Inara laughed.

"He's just do shaui. You just wanna take a bite out of him all over, you know?"

"Careful." Inara whispered as she saw Simon walk into the store first followed by Jayne who was carrying River on his back, in their usual _friendly_ style. "Seems you're not the only one who has feelings for someone."

"You think." Kaylee smirked and turned her attention to the small group. "Morning, you three."

"Don't usually see you out and about planet-side, Simon." Inara smiled pleasantly at the doctor who looked so out of place in the small store.

"Yes, well thought I'd try something different today." He turned as he heard a commotion behind him. He saw River and Jayne almost knocking over some type of equipment and rushed over to make sure nothing was broken. "Would you two be careful with that… that's, um…" He looked to Kaylee for help. "What is that?"

"It's a post-holer. You dig holes. For posts." Kaylee gave him her best sympathetic smile before turning her attention back to the youngest crew members. Simon walked to a small bin and held up the same plate Kaylee had been looking at earlier.

"Jiangyin prairie paradise. Good god. They're asking money for this crap?" He scoffed placing the plate back where it belonged wiping his hand on his sleeve.

"Hard to believe ain't it? Glad you're out!"

* * *

River who was across the room still attached Jayne's back saw how Kaylee's face fell and knew that Simon had somehow insulted the usually cheery mechanic.

"Simon just stuck his foot in his mouth." She whispered to Jayne as he looked over to see what was going on.

"Yea?" He smirked. "Ten bucks says he does it again."

"I'm not taking that bet." River rolled her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Because we both know he will." She snorted and watched the drama unfold.

* * *

"Mm." Simon had barely registered Kaylee's last statement. He was still far too concerned with River's relationship with Jayne.

"Give you a chance to have a little fun." She smiled at him.

"Fun. Right, yeah." He looked back to River and Jayne who quickly looked away hoping they wouldn't be caught. "I, uh, I consider this fun. It's _fun_ being forced to the ass-end of the galaxy. To get to live on a piece of luh-suh wreck, and to eat molded protein. And to be bullied around by our pyen juh duh jiou cha wen of a captain. It's fun."

"Luh-suh?" Kaylee looked so hurt and River was fuming about what he had said about Mal.

"Sorry?"

"Serenity ain't luh-suh." She spat at the doctor who instantly felt bad. River and Jayne took the opportunity to duck out the front door and find something better to do with their time.

"No, I… I didn't mean—"

"Yeah you did. You meant everything you just said."

"Well, no. Uh, actually I was being ironic, so in-in-in the strictest sense—"

"You were being mean, is what." She cut him off quickly. "And if that's what you think of this life, then you can't think much of them that choose it, can you?" Kaylee quickly stormed off out of the store, followed closely by Inara who gave Simon a cutting glance. Simon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking around and realizing that River and Jayne were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Jayne and River stood just outside the back door listening to Kaylee tear Simon a new one. Just then she heard a hint of music on the breeze. She nudged at Jayne's shoulder to get him to set down. They both looked at each other with huge smiled on their faces, and raced towards the sound. They came upon what looked like some sort of celebration. People were dancing on a stage while others watched from various spots in the field. River couldn't help herself and she immediately climbed up onto the stage watching the dancer's feet for a few minutes before she too joined in the celebration. Jayne was shocked by how quickly she had picked up the steps, but he knew that she only needed to watch something once to be able to do it. As it was she was already an excellent dancer. He watched as a young man took River into his arms and they bounded about the stage. He watched for another minute or so before he realized that his mother had taught him this dance. That remembrance in mind he climbed up on the stage determined to cut in.

* * *

Simon watched from the far edge of the field as River and Jayne smiled at each other and moved about as if this was something they did everyday. He never figured that Jayne could move with such elegance, and grace. It looked as if he was taught by some of the best dance academies in the core. River seemed to be enjoying herself so he was content to just watch from afar as the two happily flitted about. He watched the two for a few more minutes before deciding that it might just be a good idea to go apologize to Kaylee. River smiled as she looked over Jayne's shoulder and watched as he uncle wandered off towards where Serenity was waiting.

* * *

After the musicians finished the last song River and Jayne finally realized how tired they were, and decided it would be best if they headed back to the ship before the sun went down. As they made it to the edge of the clearing River heard a soft grunt followed by an equally loud thud. Before she could turn around her world went black.

* * *

Simon made it back just in time to catch the tale end of the gun fight. He saw Mal and Zoe drop to the ground quickly dodging bullets. Unfortunately Shepherd Book was not as fast as the others and Simon watched in horror as he dropped to the ground with a dark red stain forming on his chest. In that moment Simon thought not of his safety, but of the man who needed his help. It would turn out to be the worst mistake he would ever make. He felt a sharp pain in his side, and he too quickly fell to the ground crying out.

* * *

The room River and Jayne were being held in was cold, and damp, but there was sunlight streaming through a window so they knew it was still daytime. But what day they hadn't a clue. She looked over to find Jayne sitting quietly in a corner. His head was resting on his arms crossed over his knees, and he looked as if he was sulking.

"Jayne…?" She quietly called out to him. She had no idea where they were and who might be listening.

"River!" She heard something in his voice. It sounded a lot like relief. "Are you okay?"

"Yes… I'm fine." She said crossing the room and sitting down next to him. "Are you okay? Where are we? What's going on?"

"I'm fine. This just happens sometimes." He said not offering any kind of explanation.

"Well that explains everything…thank you so much…now if you don't mind _what_ happens sometimes?" She glared at him, but also feeling relief that he was still acting like himself. _Aggravating_ she thought with a hidden smile.

"Well if ya would have let me finish I could've told ya that sometimes on rim planets hill folk take people. Like doctors, carpenters and other skilled workers." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay, but this is a border world Jayne not some second rate rim moon." She thought for a moment. "I don't think they'll hold us long. Neither of us are really skilled workers. I can't imagine that they have too much need for a mercenary." She giggled to herself, but stopped when she noticed Jayne's silence and upset demeanor. "What?!"

"May not have need for a mercenary, but they always got a need for young women in child bearing years." She waited for his signature smirk, the telltale sign that he was messing with her, but it never came, and she realized the horrible truth. What he was saying to her was true.

"WHAT?!" She screeched. "No, no, no. I want to go home. I want to get back to Serenity. They'll come for us. My father will not leave me here, and neither will Simon." She continually kept nodding her head to assure herself that that was what would happen.

"Yea… Or we can try to find our own way outta here." Jayne rolled his eyes. He learned early on that you can't expect someone to come save you every time you needed saving. Sometimes there was no one you could rely on but yourself.

"Well genius what's the plan then?"

Before he could answer the door to the room opened and three men stood there with shotguns pointed at them.

"Stand up. Patron wants to speak to you." One man said sternly. Jayne quickly helped River to her feet and made sure to place himself between her and the men at all times. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he began to feel very uneasy.

* * *

Simon came to a short while later. The pain in his side was unbearable. He looked at himself and saw that he was shirtless, and his side was patched up. Just as he was about to move he heard someone clear their throat. He looked over to see Mal sitting in a chair caddy-corner to where he was laying.

"Hey there, Doc. How ya feelin'?" The look on Mal's face instantly told him that something was wrong.

"Umm. My side hurts… What happened, Captain?"

"You were shot. Probably shouldn't be running into any gun battles."

"Yes, well it seems River did some excellent work patching me up." Simon moved the bandage aside slightly to get a better look at his wound.

"Yea, well, I patched you up, so… thanks for that I guess."

"Oh that's right, Shepherd Book was hit." He paused. "That's why I ran into the fire fight. I saw him get shot, and fall down. She's helping with the Shepherd right?" Mal had become completely silent, and it unnerved Simon. "Right?"

"Well no. Zoe is doing all she can for him right now, and -"

"Where's my niece?" Simon said flatly cutting him off mid-sentence.

"As I was sayin' the Shepherd was shot, and so were you, and well you couldn't help. The shepherd was fadin' fast, and we had to get him help."

"Where is my _niece?_ Where is _your daughter_?" Simon was beginning to shout.

"She's back on Jiangyin." Mal said quietly.

"You left River all alone, and defenseless on some strange planet?"

"She ain't exactly alone." Mal said quietly.

"Please tell me you don't mean Jayne…?"

"Right, okay, then I won't tell you. Stay in your room so the Alliance don't find ya." Mal bolted for the door, but stopped when Simon yelled at him.

"Captain get back here!"

"Fine." Mal pouted like a spoiled child and sat back down in the chair.

"You left River with Jayne on that back water planet?!"

"I didn't want to Simon, but think, no one is gonna take better care of her than Jayne will."

"Why? Because he loves her?" Simon hollered.

"Yea, but you know Jayne won't let anything happen to her." Mal tried to reason. "Plus it's not like I'm leavin' her there permanent like. We are going back as soon as they patch up Book."

"Fine, but I hope you realize that she's going to wind up getting pregnant." Mal sighed at Simon's stupidity. "Pregnant and married to the ape-thing."

"Look Simon, Jayne may be a lot of things, but when it comes to River, and her well being… even he ain't that stupid. But, if something does happen I will personally kill him myself." With that he stormed out of the room.

* * *

Jayne watched River cautiously as she danced with one of the village boys. He slightly shook his head as he followed their movements with his eyes. She was so trusting of people in general he just couldn't understand it. She hadn't been out in the 'verse long enough to know how people really are. Especially considering them folk Serenity's crew had to deal with. So when the Patron had told them that they were free to go if they wished, she just smiled and said okay. When he had told them that Serenity had gone and left them behind she got tears in her eyes, then simply nodded taking this _Patron_ at his word. Jayne took a little more convincing, but sure enough when the Patron took them back to see where Serenity had once sat he saw that they were indeed gone. So now here they were back in the _Village of the Damned_ waiting for Mal and crew to return so they could get the hell off this rock.

He looked up from his silent rantings when he heard River's laughter. He noticed that she was dancing with a different boy now. No doubt he, along with every other man here, was trying to get her to stay and marry him. _Well_ Jayne thought _I ain't gonna stand by while some inbred hill boy try's ta take advantage of my girl._ He stalked over towards the dancing couple bringing his drink along with him.

"I'm cuttin' in." He said. His voice was low and gravely and River knew that this could easily turn into a fight.

"Wait yer turn." The boy spat trying once again to resume the dance.

"Don't recall askin'" Jayne said pushing the boy aside and grabbing River's hand as he started leading her around the fire. He looked back to her face and saw the bright smile that made him feel so at home. He could tell from the smell of alcohol coming off her that she too had been drinking. They danced silently stealing glances every once in awhile until the song changed. Jayne was all set to go sit down, and have a few more drinks. Just as he was about to one of the elder women came over and wrapped a rope around both of their wrists securing their clasped hands together.

"Just follow the other couples deary's." She whispered quickly to them before scurrying off to join the older women once more. River raised their entwined hands curiously, and stole a questioning glance at Jayne who shrugged and then, seeing what the others were doing, lead her about the dance floor once more. This dance was fast, and River was having a hard time not laughing as they both jumped and twirled about, moving together through the couples trying to keep up. As the song ever so slowly picked up River noticed that the pairs were heading towards a small bonfire that had been started over to the side of the original one.

"How odd." She giggled. Jayne loved the sound of that laugh. He just couldn't get enough of it.

"What's odd?"

"Look over there." She pointed. "They're actually jumping over the fire."

"Hmm. Seems a bit odd, and dangerous come to think of it." He shrugged as they too approached the fire.

"Well…I suppose that when in Rome one should do as the Romans do." She smirked.

"What?" He was confused. Where the hell was Rome?

"It's an old saying from Earth-that-was." She said. She would have finished her explanation, but it was their turn to jump over the fire, and as their feet touched the ground once again River stumbled at the sudden sound of whistles and applause. Jayne got his arms around her before she could fall, and looked her over to make sure she was okay. He hadn't realized how close their faces were, and they stared at one another both unmoving for several seconds.

"Fuck it." He softly said as he pulled her face to his. She melted into him, and deepened the kiss knowing that at this particular moment in time there was no other place she would rather be than right here, in his strong embrace.

The light was bright as it cut into the small one bedroom home. Jayne suddenly sat up trying to figure out where he was, and what the gorram hell was going on. Oh yeah, right, he was kidnapped with River, and he had a splitting headache. Shit, Where was River! He looked around hoping that he hadn't been so stupid, and drunk, to leave her to deal with any inbred hill folk that might want to make her their own. A quiet sigh cut off his train of thought. He slowly turned to his right and saw that River was laying next to him in the bed. It took another several minutes for his brain to catch up with his eyes and register exactly what he was seeing. Not only was River in _this_ bed with him, but River was_ naked_ andin bed with him.

"Oh ruttin' hell! Man and the Doc are gonna kill me!" He said out loud smacking his face. He thought for a moment and then checked under the blanket with slight hope. He winced at the sight as he quickly started to look around the room for his pants. Hoping against hope that she wouldn't wake up just yet. He stopped his movements when he heard River's horrified gasp.

"What did you do?!" River shrieked jumping out of the bed with only the sheet for cover.

"What did I do? What did you do?" He turned on her shoving his legs into his pants.

"Don't you try to blame me for whatever happened!" She yelled as she found and reached fore her dress which had been hanging up on the light fixture. She hurriedly shoved it down over her head making sure it was on correctly before beginning the search for her undergarments.

"This had to be all your doing!" She shouted as she retrieved her panties that were on top of an oil lamp that was in the middle of a small table on the other side of the room.

"All my doing?! Now wait just one minute there ni zi, as my Ma always says it takes two to tango, so yer just as much to blame as me in this here situation." Quickly changing the subject he started in on the other topic that had been eatin' at him since they got here. "And what about all the trust ya been givin' these random strangers, who just so happened to have kidnapped us I should remind ya since ya seemed to have forgotten that little tidbit in that genius mind o' yourn! Oh yeah! Thems the people to trust around here!" He spat back with a dignified firmness that had surprised her. Taking their minds off the fight in progress they turned to the door as someone knocked gently on it.

"WHAT?!" The both belted out as a young woman walked in smiling at them.

"I just came over to check on the newest happy couple." She said meekly. The poor girl. River couldn't really blame her cause both she and Jayne were forces to be reckoned with when they were angry. And right now they were both furious.

"Excuse me?" River asked trying to calm down a bit.

"Well, I just wanted to give my sincerest congratulations to the newlyweds," She said pointing at the two of them, "and invite you both to a celebratory breakfast we're having this morning." She spoke this part a little bit louder thinking that maybe they just hadn't heard what she said.

"Son of a bitch!" River said quietly to herself as her eyes widened and she slowly turned to look at Jayne in abject horror. This was not gonna be good.

"I'm a dead man." Jayne gulped

**Alright so let me know what you think. Please read and review because it lets me know if there is anything wrong or anything you don't like.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I want to thank everyone who has favorited or reviewed for this story. I really appreciate it. I also want to thank my awesome Beta Irishbrneyes who I bugged all week about this chapter. I do not own anything and no profit was made.**

"I'm a dead man." River heard Jayne whisper to himself. She turned slowly on her toes to face him. She was utterly speechless. In all the ways she had imagined this little side trip to end, marrying Jayne had not been even remotely a way, and now all the time she had spent pushing Jayne away had been for nothing. If Atherton, her betrothed she reminded herself, ever caught up with her and found out about this he would make Jayne suffer. The thought about Jayne being hurt made her snap.

"You're gorram right! You are a dead man Jayne. Would you like me to tell you why? I'm gonna kill you that's why!" Moving from sarcastic smile to shrieking devil woman she jumped him tackling him to the ground. The younger woman who had told them about the predicament they were in watched for a just moment before quietly ducking back out the front door. She really didn't feel like witnessing a murder. If she was a betting woman she would have put her money on the young woman. While the man was larger you couldn't really count out the rage factor.

"Elizabeth!" She turned to see the Patron approaching her slowly, looking to the young couple's new house every so often.

"Good morning Patron. What can I help you with this morning?" She smiled sweetly.

"How are our new recruits?" He looked at the house when he heard a loud crashing.

"Well the young woman is a might bit upset, but that's to be expected." He nodded without saying a word to her. "Patron, if I may ask… Why are we keeping them here?"

"The young man that our group saw her with earlier was the ships' doctor. We need a doctor and judging by how similar the two look I'm guessing that they're related. I don't think he would leave her here forever. He'll be back for her, and when he sees how acclimated the two have become to their new lifestyle he'll want to stay too. No fuss." Elizabeth nodded not really believing a word.

"But what's stopping them from running away. I thought the plan was she was going to marry one of the other young men in the village. I know James had his eye on her all night." Elizabeth said pointing out the obvious flaw in the plan.

"You will my dear. You will make sure they stay happy. If they're happy here then they'll be less likely to try and leave, but for the next few nights we'll step up security around the perimeter of the town." He said before wandering off to go greet the rest of the villagers. She jumped slightly when she heard the young man's voice cry out in pain.

"Don't think the Doctor will be likely to stay if they kill each other before he gets here." She rolled her eyes and wandered away to help prepare breakfast.

Neither Jayne nor River heard the young woman exit and frankly neither cared. River was far to concerned with injuring Jayne and he was concerned about not dying. He wasn't prepared for her to jump on him and he hit the ground with a loud thud. He took no time to quickly flip her around and pin her on the ground. They struggled like that for a few minutes before both of them realized how suggestive the position was and they quickly separated.

"This is so bad." River said running her hands through her hair.

"Don't you think I know that?" He sighed as he took a seat in one of the two chairs in the tiny house.

"Well oh brilliant one…" She said sarcastically looking at Jayne. "What do we do now?"

"Think it's best we just play along." She glared at him coldly. "Just until yer dad and Zoe come and get us."

"Don't you mean my dad and my uncle?" She asked

"Uhh… You really think the Doc is gonna have a hand in our rescue?" He asked grinning mischievously at her. River couldn't hold it in anymore. She held her stomach as she laughed hard at the thought of Simon trying to help out. He was always a total klutz, even when they were children. "Probably shoot himself in the foot." He said through chuckles causing River to start laughing harder.

"Do you think we should go to this breakfast?" River asked quickly changing the subject.

"We should probably just play the _happy couple_until Mal and the rest of the crew shows up."

"What if they don't show back up?" She whispered. "I mean we have no idea why they left in the first place." River wanted to start crying thinking maybe they had left because they had been found.

"Well then we'll get a plan together after that. Get back to town and contact my Ma. Then get passage back to my home, and figure out somethin' from there." She looked at him for a moment and then stood up.

"I wonder what we're going to do here?" She looked around the small two room building carefully.

"Places like this often have a very old fashioned way of doing things. Women typically stay at home while the men do manual labor."

"Wonderful!" She smiled sarcastically. "Let's go make friends, _ Honey_."

The town was small and definitely well off the beaten path. The large trees that surrounded the village looked ominous and River could understand why it was so easy to keep people here. The people were watching them carefully as if they were the dangerous ones: as if they were the intruders. Jayne was getting upset with all the looks while River was just getting nervous. She wasn't oblivious to the looks the young men had been giving her. The thought had crossed her mind that if Jayne hadn't cut in she would no doubt be married to one of her many admirers from the night before. Jayne seemed to pick up on this too so he wrapped one of his large muscled arms around her shoulders. River smiled to herself and leaned into him slightly. She was shaken from her thoughts when the cheerful young woman from earlier walked up to them.

"Good morning you two." She smiled politely. "I trust you're both feeling better?" Jayne and River were both silent for a moment before River remembered her manners.

"Yes, we are feeling much better thank you. We just had… quite the shock this morning." River smiled extending her hand out quickly. Without missing a beat the woman shook it. "I'm River Reynolds."

"Cobb." Jayne interjected.

"I'm sorry?" River turned to him slowly.

"Your last name ain't Reynolds anymore." He whispered.

"Oh…right. I'm River Cobb." She turned around and splayed her hand across Jayne's chest with mock affection. "And this is Jayne Cobb."

"Well it's very nice to meet you." She smiled at them sweetly "I'm Elizabeth Preater, and I'll be acclimating you to your new life here. Why don't we go have breakfast first?" River nodded politely and followed. Jayne scoped the area around them and seeing nothing he carefully stalked forward, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched by everyone there.

Mal was anxious to say the least. The shepherd had been out of surgery for several hours, and they still hadn't heard anything about his condition. He was nervous that the Alliance might find the Doc hiding out on the boat, and he was constantly worried about what was going on with River and Jayne. Simon was right, it wasn't like either Jayne or River had denied their feelings. Of course they hadn't come out and said it to the crew, but everyone could tell that they had feelings for each other. It was obvious just seeing the way they looked at one another. He jumped slightly when he felt a slight pressure on his shoulder. He turned to see Inara smiling down at him comfortingly.

"You're worried about River." It wasn't really a question: more of a statement.

"Yea." He shrugged.

"Me too." She sighed as she took a seat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for several minutes in contented silence before an Alliance officer walked into the room and cleared his throat loudly.

"Captain Reynolds, Ms. Serra. I have news pertaining to Shepherd Book." They both rose carefully wondering if they had arrived a little late.

"It seems that the Shepherd is doing just fine." Both Inara and Mal heaved a huge sigh of relief. "We would like him to stay under our doctor's care for at least two more days."

"Two days?!" Mal asked trying to calm himself down.

"Yes, well… he did lose quiet a bit of blood, Captain. It would not be wise to move him in his present state."

"Of course you will let the Shepherd decide on this himself?" Inara said as she smiled politely stepping between Mal and the young officer.

"Of course, but he'll be out at least until tomorrow night at the earliest." He said. "If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask." He nodded politely to both of them before walking off to finish his day's duties.

"Well Simon won't be pleased one bit." Mal huffed.

"No, I don't suppose he will be, but Kaylee's been with him all day. At least he'll be in a decent mood when you tell him." She smiled reassuringly at him.

"Fantastic!" He said sarcastically. "Well, I'm gonna go inform the Doc of this new development. If I'm not back soon send help." Inara laughed slightly at his joke watching him retreat down the hall.

"Hey there Doc. Got some things we need to be discussin'." Mal said stepping into the room. He looked at the large file in the Doctor's hands and knew instantly what he was reading. "That River's file?"

"Yes, and I think I'm beginning to understand why Atherton is hunting her down with such determination." Simon said setting the file down carefully. Mal took notice of the fact that there were really only a few pages left for him to read.

"Oh?" Mal waited for him to explain. "And why's that?" Mal finally asked after a few minutes when he saw that Simon didn't understand that he wanted him to continue.

"From what I understand… Abigail was genetically perfect. The way they altered her her blood could have been used to help make vaccines and cure diseases. Their plan for her, whatever it may have been, was foolproof. The same genetic traits she had the mental superiority, physical superiority her immune system would all have been passed down to any children she may have had." Simon waited for Mal to understand. When he didn't Simon sighed in frustration. "River and any other children my sister would have had would have been genetically perfect. Subsequently River's children will be genetically perfect as well and so on down the line."

"How can they do that?" Mal asked a little perplexed.

"I'm not sure, but to know for sure if they were right in their predictions I would have to test River's DNA. It would definitely tell us why Atherton is pursuing River so determinedly. Think of what one would do with genetically perfect children. He could build a fortune, an empire, on that alone." Simon said mostly to himself.

"Who would do something like that? Sell their child?" Mal looked at Simon questioningly.

"Didn't you ever pay attention at all the whole time you lived on Osiris? At what was going on around you? That's all they do." Simon rolled his eyes. "Did you have something you needed to tell me Captain?"

"Yes actually. I have news regarding the Shepherd." Mal was nervous about how Simon would take the next little tidbit of news.

"Oh?" Simon was itching to get back to River, so he was excited that the news would be good.

"He seems to be doing fine, but they're wanting to keep him here at least until he wakes up… which will be sometime tomorrow."

"TOMORROW!" Simon hollered, but then quickly quieted down when he realized he was suppose to be in hiding. "What about River?"

"If we leave to get her now and then come back to get Book the Alliance will know something is up." Mal knew exactly why Simon was upset. Hell, he was feeling the exact same way, but if they left now they would be putting River in more danger and he just wouldn't do that to his daughter.

"How long until we can get to her?" Simon sighed in defeat.

"At the least, another day until we can get back to Jiangyin."

"At the most?"

"Three days."

"Don't have much of a choice now do we?"

"No, Doc, I fear we don't." Mal turned when he heard Simon's door slide open. Kaylee was standing there with her ever present sweet smile plastered on her face.

"Hey Cap'in. How's Book?"

"He's doing well Kaylee." Mal said sadly before he ducked out of the room. Kaylee thought about asking what they were going to do about Jayne and River, but saw the look on Simon's face and thought she better not.

River and Jayne had been in the village for a day and they were both feeling a bit on edge. Where ever they went the Patron or Elizabeth were there. River was excited to finally go back to their tiny little house and get away from everyone else. They both took notice of the small tub that had been brought in for them to wash in, and River jumped slightly when she saw Elizabeth walk out of the bedroom area.

"Oh!" Elizabeth jumped too. "Pardon me I was just bringing you some warm water to wash and some night clothes. I also brought some extra clothing for tomorrow."

"Thank you Elizabeth. That is very kind of you, but if you don't mind Jayne and I would like to get some rest." River continued to stare at her like she was an intruder.

"Oh yes of course newlyweds… Probably want to get started on that family right away." Jayne scoffed at her words, but River only nodded pushing her towards the door. Once they were alone River looked once more longingly at the small tub that contained warm water. It was barely big enough for herself to fit in, but she knew just how wonderful it would feel.

"You can take a bath first if'n ya want." She jumped at the sound of Jayne's voice; she forgot he was still in the room.

"Alright. Thank you Jayne." She smiled sweetly and waited for him to leave the room before she began to disrobe.

The water was warm and she quickly lost track of time. She realized just how long she had been sitting in the water when she felt it begin to cool. She stepped out quickly and grabbing the small towel next to the tub. Just as she wrapped it around her she heard the door open, and she turned to see Jayne standing there with his mouth hanging open. She giggled to herself at first because it brought back memories of the time she saw Jayne shirtless in the infirmary.

"I…I uh… I was just seein' if everythin' was okay…with you. I…I hadn't heard anythin' for awhile." He stumbled over his words. River smirked thinking how cute he looked as his cheeks grew redder with every word that came out.

"Yes Jayne I'm done." She moved slowly towards him and she heard him gulp. "If you don't mind though I need to just get past you." He continued to stare at her as if she hadn't spoken. " Jayne, I need to get my clothes."

"Oh… right! I'm gonna just wash up real quick."

"Okay." She smiled at his awkwardness. "I'll be waiting, maybe we should… talk."

"Yea… sure." She smiled at him once more before she shut the door, and finished toweling herself off.

She grabbed the nightgown, thinking that maybe it would have some coverage. From what Jayne had said towns, such as this, often had very strict morals. She had no such luck. The night gown was short stopping high on her thigh. The thin, gauzy white material left little to the imagination and it had no sleeves, just little thin straps. Finally realizing just how cold it was in the house she slipped under the covers to try and keep warm. She looked around the room and noticed, thankfully, Jayne had taken his sleep pants, which Elizabeth had left, with him.

She was starting to doze off when she heard the door creak open slowly. She sat up and watched Jayne pad across the floor. His eyes never left her face. He sat carefully on the end of the bed and they stared at each other for several minutes before River finally cleared her throat and spoke.

"So I was thinking…" She started. She was lying she had no idea what she was thinking.

"Yea…"

"I was trying to think of the best possible way to get Mattie the rest of her medication once we get out of here." River said as she covered with the first thing that popped into her head.

"Oh yea…" Jayne took a deep breath. He was kind of glad that River wasn't bringing up the fact that they were now married, or the fact that they had obviously had drunken sex. He would rather avoid those topics, at least for now.

"So I figured we could raid a medical facility. Simon could easily get in and out with the medication. Heck we could even steal some other medicines and sell them. Making a good amount of money in the process."

"Yea. Well you can discuss that with Mal and Simon when they come get us." Jayne smiled at her.

"Didn't know you had such a brain for theft."

"Yea well it seems to run in the family I guess." She joked.

"It's not the only thing."He whispered to himself.

"What's that suppose to mean?"She asked a little astonished he was making fun of her.

"If I remember correctly there was another member of your family who got drunk and married someone without knowing it." He laughed as she faked like she was offended by his words.

"Oh hardy har har. You are such a comedian."

"Hey. No need to get upset just pointing out the obvious." He waited until the laughter between the two of them died down then he yawned. "On that note. I'm gonna go ahead, and just sleep on the floor."

"What? Why?" She asked a little hurt that he didn't want to share the bed with her.

"Well I mean… I just figured… that you didn't want to share a bed…with me." He said giving her a questioning look.

"It's a little cold. I wouldn't mind if you got in bed and shared your warmth." She smiled sweetly at him. He didn't say anything as he slowly climbed into the bed. They sat there unmoving for a moment before she slithered over next to him and laid her head on his chest. He instinctively wrapped one arm around her holding her close. Just as she was about to fall asleep her mind slipped once more back to Mattie, and a thought popped up.

"Jayne?" She called out his name to see if he was still awake.

"Yea?" His voice was low and gravelly almost as if she had woken him up.

"If I ask you a question would you answer me honestly?"

"Yea, sure." He said to the darkness that had enveloped the room.

"Do you and Mattie have the same father?" It wasn't really the question she wanted to ask, but the answer to this one would let her know if her question was even necessary.

"No. My Pa died when I was fifteen."

"Mattie's yours isn't she?" It wasn't a loud question. She whispered it, but she could hear his sharp intake of breath. She now knew the answer to her question. It was silent in the room for a few minutes, and she thought maybe she had crossed a line. This wasn't the first time this thought had occurred to her.

"Yea, River. Mattie's mine." Jayne finally said quietly.

"What happened to her Mother, if you don't mind my asking?" She wasn't trying to be rude, but she couldn't help but feel that she was being a terrible friend right now.

"She took off right after Mattie was born. When that happened I had to find a job quick, and I couldn't work in the mines, too dangerous so I-"

"You took off into the black." River finished the sentence for him. "Does Mattie know?"

"Ma and I were gonna tell her when she got a bit older. Three is a bit young to know that your Ma didn't want you, ya know?"

"Yes, I can see how that would be traumatizing for her." River nodded against his chest. River was silent for another moment before she spoke again. "I don't think any less of you Jayne." He didn't answer. "If anything, I think you're a better man because of it. You are doing your best to take care of your daughter, and that is something that should be rewarded." It was silent for another moment before she heard another sigh come from him.

"Thanks Riv. That means a lot." He kissed the top of her head gently and they quickly fell asleep.

Another two days had passed and neither River or Jayne had seen Serenity land anywhere near them. They were both beginning to wonder if something hadn't happened to the crew. They had both taken to watching the perimeter. They noticed that at night the watch seemed to thin. Not as many men were left to keep a look out during the night time. River was growing antsy to get out of the town. So now they were sitting in their tiny, cramped, house trying to figure out a way to get word to Serenity, or to get to Jayne's planet.

"They're not just going to let us up and leave." River said quietly. They were never really sure who was listening to them. "Did you notice how the Patron has been watching us, and that Elizabeth is always around?"

"For some reason they don't want _you_to leave, but I can't figure out why." He said putting his head in his hands out of frustration. He knew that Mal was expecting him to keep River safe, wherever he was, and that was exactly what he was planning to do.

"Simon." It was just one word and it was the only answer he needed.

"Of course. Place like this is always in need of a doctor. Bet they're waiting on him to come back to get you. They don't exactly plan on letting you leave."

"I don't think they exactly planned on having you be the one who married me wither. I bet their plan was for me to marry one of their boys. That is until you decided to cut in." She grinned and nudged him trying to get him to laugh or smile. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"So you got a plan?" He asked her changing the subject.

"My plan is to wait until dark and then… run." She smiled.

"That sounds like a very complicated plan. How long did it take you to come up with that one?" He snorted.

"Oh I'm sorry did I miss the part where you came up with a plan? She paused with her eyebrow sitting high on her brow waiting for him to answer. "No…? Okay then my plan it is."

"Brat." He laughed. "How long until sundown?"

"I'd say no more than twenty minutes." She smiled "And then we're out of here."

They were silent as the watched the edge of the woods as the sun slowly sank in the sky. Three of the men guarding the woods flanked off, ending their shift, and they knew it was time. She looked at him and stuck her hand out. He smiled and stuck his hand out too.

"One, two three." They both said quietly. River threw out scissors and Jayne threw out rock. River was running first.

"You suck." She said playfully before she darted off towards the tree line. Jayne followed behind her carefully. They thought they had made it until someone yelled out to them and their blood ran cold.

"Stop!" A man's voice rang out through the night. Jayne pushed his feet against the ground harder and he gave out an excited cheer when he saw River make it into the woods. Just as Jayne thought he was safe he felt his feet begin to slip in the mud, and then felt his face hit the ground. _At least River mad it, at least she was safe_ he thought to himself as he heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking.

"Stand up!" Jayne did as he was told. Another man moved to tie Jayne's hands behind his back as the first man called out to River. "Little princess we've got your husband, and 'less you come back right now I'm gonna start shootin' pieces off a him."

"River don't you dare come back. You keep goin'. Find your father and your uncle. Don't you worry 'bout me. I'll be fine." He winced as something smacked him in the back of the head.

"You have to the count of three or I'm gonna shoot off his foot!" He shouted to the woods. "One." Nothing. "Two." Still nothing. Just as the man was about to shout out three River came storming out of the woods her hands up in the air.

"Alright! Stop!" She yelled.

"C'mon little girl. Let's go have a meetin' with the Patron."

River stood there defiantly in the town square staring down the man who seemed to be in charge. He was at least a foot and a half taller than her, but she showed no sign of backing down. He cleared his throat loudly before he yelled to the crowd gathered in the center of town.

"It seems we have a very ungrateful couple here. We take you into our village, set you up in a lovely home-"

"It was a gorram prison!" River yelled at him. He answered her with a resounding back hand across her face. She could hear Jayne struggling against his captors and she knew that he was upset.

"The last time a woman spoke like that to a man in this village she was put to death. But since we need you though I suppose we'll just put your husband to death." The man motioned for them to bring Jayne forward. He walked him slowly forward and forced him to his knees, while River was being held back by a couple of men. Just as he put the gun to Jayne's head the sound of a ship over head cut off all noise. River looked up to see Simon hanging from the bottom of Serenity holding what looked like one of Jayne's guns.

"Looks like we got here just in the nick of time." She turned to see both Mal and Zoe walking towards them with guns at the ready. "What does that make us?"

"Big damn hero's sir." Zoe said keeping the gun trained on the man holding Jayne hostage.

"Ain't we just." He didn't take his eyes off of River. "Just can't seem to keep you two out of trouble now can I?"

"Yea well we are quite mischievous." River smirked.

"Now if you would be so kind as to hand these two over ya took from us in the first place." Mal said aiming the gun in the patron's face.

"But-" He was cut off when Mal knocked him across the face with the back of his gun.

"I wasn't really askin'." River pushed off the two holding her and walked over with Zoe to get Jayne who was still kneeling with two men at his back.

"Are you ready to go Jayne, or did you want to stick around here for awhile longer?" River teased as she grabbed a knife from one of the mans belt cutting his hands free.

"Hell no! Get us outta here, Mal."

Serenity had landed just outside of the town, and everyone was quick about getting aboard in case the village decided they didn't want to let them leave. Simon was standing nervously on the ramp pacing. As River walked towards him he cried out and ran to her; the gun still in his hands.

"I wasn't expecting you to be hanging out of the ship with one of Jayne's guns." She smiled at her Uncle while she pried the gun from his very sweaty hands.

"Yes, well, I can be tough when I need to be." He said hugging her tightly. River looked over the gun for just a moment before she started to laugh to herself.

"Oh Simon…" She sighed as she handed the gun off to Jayne. "The safety is still on." She patted him on the cheek, and walked back towards her room.

She could hear Jayne's heavy footsteps behind her as she neared her door. She just knew he wanted to talk about what happened between them over the past three days. She sighed to herself and turned to face him once she got to her door. He looked at her expectantly.

"I guess you want to talk?" She said quietly.

"You're damn right I do." She opened the door with an exasperated sigh moving aside to let him in.

"What are we gonna do about the… you know… the whole thing about us being married."

"Nothing." She shrugged. She wished with all her heart that it could work out with her and Jayne, but she knew that at some point it would go bad. She couldn't put him, or even Mattie, in that situation.

"What do ya mean nothin'?"

"I mean we do and say nothing. We didn't sign any paperwork. That kind of marriage wouldn't be recognized by the Alliance anyway."

"Yea, but River, we got married in front of God, or whoever, and we even consternated the thing."

"Consummated." She sighed again at his mispronunciation

"Yea that."

"Look Jayne I think we should just let it be, and just go back to being friends."

"But-"

"No buts. Please, just let it go." He stood there for a moment before he punched the wall and stormed out.

River sat in her room for what seemed like hours, but it was only fifteen minutes before she smelled the familiar smells of food. She knew that dinner was ready so she walked to the mess quietly and smiled at her makeshift family. Her father was in the middle of telling a joke while flirting with Inara. Simon and Kaylee were leaning on each other laughing while Zoe and Wash were holding hands while eating quietly. The only open seat was next to Jayne who wasn't looking at anyone. He barely acknowledged her when she sat down. As the bread was passed around she noticed the piece he had taken was rather large, and looked deliciously soft. She made a split second decision and grabbed it off his plate. He looked at her for a moment as she took a large bite out of it smiling. He smiled back and then reached across the table to grab another piece. River knew things weren't going to be perfect, but at least they weren't terrible. At least, for now, she had her friend.

**Let me know what you thought by reviewing because let's face it everyone likes to know that people like their work and I'm no exception. Constructive criticism is also welcome**


	19. Chapter 19

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, started following or favorited this story it really means a lot. I also want to thank my super awesome Beta Irishbrneyes. Even though she was super busy with work still managed to beta this super fast, not to mention she did a fantastic job. **

River and Jayne had let things get back to normal with their _relationship _on board. Much to Simon and Mal's chagrin they remained just as flirty and as childish as before. They were sitting in the mess at the table cleaning their weapons. Kaylee and Inara were on the couch playing a card game. Simon was in the kitchen looking perplexed. River smiled at her uncle as he tried to figure out how to cook. He was a brilliant surgeon, but when it came to cooking he was down right hopeless. She could tell from the smell that whatever it was was not edible. He smiled back at her, and then continued with his cooking. She looked back down at one of the throwing knives that Jayne had gotten her and noticed she was missing one.

"Give it back Jayne." She smirked. This had become one of Jayne's favorite games. Take something of hers and keep it until she came looking for it. It was how he'd stolen a few kisses in the last few weeks. River would simply take her item back going about her day as if the kiss had never happened. Deep down, that part always irked Jayne to the core.

"Don't know what yer talkin' 'bout, ni zi."

"Liar." She smirked. "Now give it back."

"Ain't no need to be callin' me a liar." He hadn't even bothered to look up from his gun. "Didn't take nuthin' a yers."

"You are such a liar, Jayne Cobb!" She said while laughing. "Alright. That's fine. You keep it. You bought them anyways." Jayne thought for a moment and frowned before reaching into his lap and tossing the knife at River. She caught it mid throw by the handle, and gently placed it back on the table next to its mate.

"Did you just throw a knife at River?!" Simon said in a panic.

"No." Jayne scoffed. It wasn't really a secret that he and Doctor Tam didn't get along. Jayne on more than one occasion had shouldered Simon into a wall. No one was really sure why, but River had an inkling that it was because Simon had told Jayne that he was not, and never would be, good enough for his niece. River rolled her eyes at the fight she knew was coming.

"Yes… you did. I just saw it!" Everyone was silent and then without warning River started giggling.

"Simon… Calm down. I caught it and he wasn't throwing it at me anyways." She smiled at her uncle. "He was tossing it to me. That's a big difference."

"Well…I still don't like it." He put some food in a bowl looking at River.

"What…?" She said looking at Jayne for help. He wouldn't make eye contact with her. He already had enough problems with Simon as it was. No need to make things worse.

"I would like you to try this for me, River." Simon was smiling at her. It was so genuine, and sweet, that she was having a hard time telling him no. She smiled back uneasily trying to think of something to say.

"Oh, no thank you Simon. I'm really not that hungry." She quickly looked back down at the table.

"River, I really wish you would just try it." He offered her the bowl across the counter. When she frowned he picked up some chopsticks off the counter-top. "It tastes like…" Taking a bite he immediately paused in his chewing, and River was trying so hard not to laugh at the face he was making as he tried to not regurgitate his food back into the bowl. "It's good." He said slowly.

"Smells like crotch." Jayne said not bothering to look up from his knife. River was too shocked to say anything, and Inara thought it was best to stay out of it, but Kaylee did not take kindly to him picking on Simon.

"Jayne!" She said in a motherly tone.

"What? Well, it does." He shrugged. River nudged his shin lightly with her own bare foot. Jayne looked up at her warily.

"Just how do you know what crotch smells like Jayne?" She teased. Before he could think of something smart to say Wash walked in the mess followed by Zoe. It was obvious that they had been arguing about something.

"We don't even have to go someplace fancy. We can just go to the park or something. Feed the pigeons." River smiled at the thought of Zoe feeding pigeons. Something about that image just didn't fit right with the Amazon woman. She looked at Jayne to include him in the joke, but saw that he was still upset about her previous comment.

"Sure." Zoe smiled at her husband wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Feed the pigeons. Probably get the firing squad for littering."

"Come on! It's not that bad."

"It is. It's a Core planet. It's spotless. It's got sensors, and where there ain't sensors there's feds. All Central planets are the same." She said sternly, and then began to sniff the air. "What is that smell?"

"No changing the subject." Wash smirked. "Could you please tell my wife the fun she's missing out on?" He turned to Inara for some help. Inara chuckled slightly at Wash's pleading face.

"Ariel's quite a nice place, actually. There are some beautiful museums. Not to mention some of the finest restaurants in the Core."

"But…not boring like she made it sound. There's a…Um,ah,um." Wash desperately looked between Simon and River for help.

"There's hiking." Simon offered up as he scraped off the pan that he used to cook with.

"Yeah!"

"And you can go swimming in a bio-luminescent lake." River smiled at him.

"Did you say skinny dippin'?" Jayne leered at her.

"No…I definitely said swimming." River rolled her eyes.

"I heard skinny dippin'"

"Well you heard wrong." She said coldly.

"I don't care if it's got sunsets twenty-four hours a day. I ain't setting foot on that planet." Zoe said sternly.

"No one is setting foot on that fancy rock." Mal said walking into the room. River didn't miss the fact that he was glaring at Jayne. He had probably heard the earlier comment."I don't want anyone leaving the ship. Come to think of it I don't want anyone looking out the windows, or talking loud. And there will be _**no**_ skinny dippin'."

"Fun sucker." Wash said quietly causing River to giggle.

"We're here to drop off Inara. That's it." He said as he took a seat at the table and began to put whatever mush Simon had cooked into a small bowl. He sniffed it scrunching up his nose. River shook her head signaling for him not eat it, and then motioned to Simon who was standing in the kitchen still scrubbing at the pan. He shoved the bowl to the middle of the table.

"What's the point of coming to the Core if I can't even step off the boat?" Jayne scoffed as he reassembled his gun.

"You could have got off with Shepherd Book at the Bathgate Abbey. Could have been meditating on the wonders of your rock garden by now." Mal said sarcastically.

"Well it beats just sittin'." Jayne shrugged.

"It _is_ just sitting." Wash and River chimed in at the same time. Jayne glared at the two of them. He didn't like when River and Wash had their _little_moments. Inara and Kaylee saw how Jayne was glaring at Wash, and they both smiled to each other.

"So, how long you gonna be planetside?" Kaylee smiled as she placed some cards on the table.

"Shouldn't be more than a day or two." Inara shrugged.

"Big stop just to renew your license to companion." Wash said looking over where the two women sat in the corner. "Can I use companion as a verb?" Inara laughed at his question and continued to play the game.

"It's Guild law. All Companions are required to undergo a physical examination once a year." All conversation came to a screeching halt when Jayne hocked and spit on his knife. Simon paused, his spoon halfway between his mouth and his bowl, staring at Jayne in disgust.

"Could you not do that while we're…_ever?_" Jayne simply looked at Simon hocked again and spit on the knife once more. Simon's nose scrunched up removing himself from the table before he said something that would cause Jayne to hit him. He doubted that even River could keep Jayne from decking him. Wash, trying his best to change the subject, turned his attention back Inara.

"So, two days in a hospital? That's _awful_. Don't you just hate doctors?"

"Hey!" Simon said throwing up his hands in the air motioning to himself.

"I mean… present company excluded." Wash shrugged an apology to him.

"Let's not be excludin' people." Jayne smirked back at Simon. "That'd be rude." River rolled her eyes and smacked Jayne in the back of the head. "HEY!" he said rubbing his head.

"Stop being so mean!" She said as she walked out of the room. Jayne didn't say anything, but simply smirked back down at his guns and knives. Mal and Simon saw the exchange looking at each other worried.

River sat on the bridge with Wash as Serenity landed on the outskirts of the city. She remembered summers here with Simon, and all the fun they use to have. It didn't seem fair that she wouldn't be able to at least see her once favorite vacation spot. She gave a quiet sigh as she felt her new home settle on the ground.

"Don't worry little River." Wash nudged her gently as he stood up out of the pilot's seat. He smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "You'll get to go back someday."

"I really do hope so, Wash." Sighing again she stood up to follow him out. She smiled at Inara and Kaylee as she passed them on the catwalk. They were currently discussing the Companion policy on dating. River smirked. She knew things in Inara's world were tricky, and she couldn't help but notice Inara's wistful glance in Mal's direction as she told Kaylee it was just to complicated. River's thoughts turned to her own _complicated_ love life when she saw Jayne and Mal throwing horse shoes down in the cargo bay. She'd decided it was best to pretend everything was the same as before. If she and Jayne acted differently Simon or Mal wouldn't notice something was up.

"Ah!" Jayne cheered and smiled at her as he threw a ringer. "How're we gonna find a job if we don't leave the ship?" He questioned as he turned his attention back to Mal.

"It's Alliance territory. Ain't any jobs worth having." He said as he lined up his shot. River watched as Wash hopped up on a barrel to sit next to Zoe. She loved how he always wanted to be next to her. She thought it was sweet, but she could tell that Zoe sometimes thought it was annoying.

"Nor the last three places we've been." River stifled her laughter at Wash's joke, but he was right. Mal wasn't even trying. She turned as Jayne grunted at the fact that he had missed on his toss.

"My pop always said, '_anyone who can't find work ain't looking hard enough'_." He looked at Mal skeptically as he walked across the cargo bay to pick up the horseshoes. "We ain't even lookin' at all."

"You can stop looking. There is a client." Simon announced while looking around the room hoping someone would catch on. He sighed when he realized that no one got it, except River of course, who had come up with the idea. "Me." He paused for another moment. "I have a job for you."

"You've got a job for us?" Mal asked raising an eyebrow.

"One that will pay for itself ten times over." Simon nodded.

"Aw, forget it. We ain't that desperate." Jayne gave out a loud grunt as River elbowed him in the gut. He glared at her, but kept his mouth shut.

"You know what this is?" He asked holding out a small vial as everyone began to curiously circle around him. "It's a common immune booster called Isoprovaline. Street value for a dosage this size… fifty platinum." Jayne looked to River for confirmation and seemed astonished when River nodded. "Maybe twenty credits." He pulled out another vial. "Propoxine… maybe eighty." Jayne took the tiny vial to look at it while Simon handed another to Wash. "Hydrozepam… two hundred. And all of these are just from the medkit I had with me when I came on board. At a hospital like the one in Ariel City they'll have shelves of that stuff. Whatever the take it's more than enough payment for what I have in mind."

"So… the medvault isn't the job?" Wash asked seemingly confused.

"That's the payment. I tell you how to get in, get out, and what's worth taking; if you help me get into the hospital's diagnostic ward so I can run a test River's blood." Jayne looked frantically between River and Simon. If something was wrong with River he felt that he should know. Not that he would say anything out loud.

"What's in the diagnostic ward that can test her blood?" Jayne said trying to calm himself down.

"Lots of things, but mainly I can do DNA testing there. I can see exactly what Abigail passed down to her, and anything River might pass down to her _future_ children. Mainly it will tell me why Atherton wants her so bad. I'm going to take all of the samples I need here, and test them when I get in there."

"So we get you into the whatchathing, and you tell us how to clean out the hospital?" Mal asked wanting to make sure he understood everything correctly.

"Yes." Simon nodded.

"Not to be negative, but don't the hospital need that medicine?" Kaylee asked concern written all over her face.

"Government run facility." Zoe said matter of factly. "They'd be restocked in a matter of hours."

"She's right." Simon said trying to reassure Kaylee. "They'll never miss it."

"Plus folks on the rim sure could use it." Mal said stating the true fact.

"You know, it's all very sweet; stealing from the rich, selling to the poor, but you're talking about breaking into a highly secure Alliance facility. How do you plan on getting around security?" Wash said bringing everyone's mood down in the room.

"It's not easy; but it can be done." Simon said as he took back his vials from everyone, and practically yanking the most expensive out of Jayne's hand. "I have a friend inside the hospital, and like all Core hospitals St. Lucy's has its own dedicated security force." River handed him her tablet so he could show everyone_ her _plan that he was now taking credit for. Not that she really cared; she was far more concerned in getting Mattie's medication. That sweet girl needed it to kill off the virus her little body was fiercely battling. She couldn't help but notice that Jayne was looking at her every few minutes as Simon went over how they were going to get in, ident cards, and how Kaylee and Wash were going to need to rebuild an emergency vehicle.

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne had been practicing their medical terminology for over three hours, and they were getting absolutely nowhere. River was sitting in the corner next to Jayne trying to hold her laughter, while being supportive, as Mal stumble over the words he needed to memorize. She just couldn't help releasing a few sounds though. Those words, that she could spell when she was five, just did not sound right coming from his mouth.

"The patient was cynical, and not responding, and we couldn't bring him back." Mal thought over the words once he was finished knowing he had messed something up.

"He was cyanotic." Simon said rolling his eyes.

"He was _cyanotic, _and not responding—" Mal said trying to start over, but was interrupted.

"Not responsive." Simon made sure he pronounced it very carefully.

"_Responsive"_ Mal repeated to himself.

"And we were unable to…" Simon paused trying his best to coach Mal through his lines.

"Res…Res…" Mal began to think so hard that River thought he might hurt himself.

"Resuscitate him." Zoe said calmly. When Simon nodded that she was correct she smiled to herself. "Yes!"

"Good." Simon praised her carefully.

"He was cyanotic." Mal said carefully once more. Simon nodded to him once showing his approval then turned his attention back to Zoe.

"What methods did you use?" He asked her.

"We tried pulmonary stimulators and-and cardiac…We…" Zoe, who had been so confident in her ability to learn this earlier, was now stumbling over her own words.

"Infusers." Simon finished for her.

"Infusers…Infusers. Pulmonary stimulators and…"

"…and cardiac infusers." Jayne, Mal, Simon, and Zoe finished it all at the same time.

"What about cortical electrodes?" Simon turned to ask Jayne.

"Oh! Uh… we forgot 'em." Jayne jumped slightly as Simon asked him to answer the question.

"Let's try that again." Simon said a little ruder than necessary.

"Yeah." Mal rolled his eyes.

River was doing her best to help Jayne remember everything. It was going to be hard enough to pass him off as someone who belonged on a core planet; let alone someone who would be working there. Simon continued coaching Mal and Zoe through their own lines.

"You just need to relax." River said calmly as Jayne got frustrated over messing up his lines once more. "You can do this Jayne. I believe in you. Just take your time, and let them come. Try it again." He smiled at her as they continued their own private study session. After about an hour River and Jayne joined the rest of the group again.

"Pupils were fixed and dilapidated—"

"Dilated." Simon said cutting Mal off immediately.

"_Dilated! Dilated!" _He said. Everyone was sick and tired of not getting it right, and Mal was no exception. "Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng!" Mal swore.

It seemed as though it took the entire day to memorize just a few sentences, and now everyone was getting frustrated. River was getting annoyed at the sound of Simon's voice, and he wasn't even coaching her on this. Actually she was more annoyed about how he was speaking to Jayne; like he was something that he stepped on. She gave a huge sigh of relief as they finally started getting their lines down.

"We got there and the patient was cyanotic…not responding…non responsive…And we tried to revive…Resuscitate him…And, despite our best efforts…Ah, he kicked…Despite our best efforts. Ah, he…" Mal was doing decidedly better than earlier, but not enough to pass through the front doors. Not by a long shot.

"Which methods did you use?" Simon asked Zoe.

"We tried pulmonary stimulators and cardiac infusers." Zoe said in her usual calm voice.

"What about cortical electrodes?" Simon turned around to face where River and Jayne were sitting. River was smiling sweetly at her uncle. Jayne, however, was staring at River, oblivious of every other thing. "Jayne!" Simon hollered at the young man causing him to jump whipping his head around quickly.

"We applied, we applied the cortical electrodes. We used them electromagnetic…Reacted from…We were unable to a…We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from the…Unable to get a neural…" Jayne, despite his best efforts, couldn't think of the word. He pounded his hand on the table swearing loudly. He calmed slightly when River laid her hand on his arm.

"Response." Mal finished the sentence for him.

"_Response…"_ Jayne rolled his eyes. "Hell, I don't know. If I had wanted schoolin', I'da gone to school. I'll get it." Simon looked between River and Jayne rolling his eyes in the process. He could honestly not see what River saw in Jayne, but he didn't have time to worry about that now.

Simon stood dumbstruck in the cargo bay. There was a fully restored ambulance sitting in front of him. In his wildest dreams he would never have expected Kaylee and Wash to accomplish what they did in such a short amount of time.

"That's amazing! You two did an incredible job." Simon looked between Wash and Kaylee who were covered in grease and paint, but to Simon they were still heroes.

"And now… for the finishing touch." Kaylee smiled at Simon while pressing a button. Simon stepped back as the shuttle door opened. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne stepped out of the hatch in full uniform.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were ready to save some lives." Simon smiled at the three of them.

"Now all we need is a patient."

"You need a corpse actually." Simon said as his smiled faltered slightly. "For this to work I will have to be dead."

"Huh." Jayne chuckled. "I'm startin' to like this plan."

"Corpses." They all jumped slightly and turned to see River standing there with a determined look on her face. Mal, Simon, and Jayne were all unnerved by it.

"I'm sorry, but what?" Simon asked her wondering if he had heard her correctly.

"Corpses… as in two… as in I'll be going too."

"No." Jayne and Mal said at the same time.

"River, do you understand what I'll need to do…what that entails?"

"You're going to suspend cerebral, cardiac, and pulmonary activity in order to induce a proto-comatose state." She shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Look Simon, if I'm there the blood sample will be fresher making the findings more accurate. Plus I need something else from that hospital."

"Alright, we can manage that since the ambulance has two body cases." Simon shrugged.

"What do you need Riv? I can grab it for you." Mal said sympathetically as he came to her side.

River thought over what Mal had said. It made sense that he should get it since he and Zoe would be in the MediVault anyway. Quickly making up her mind she motioned her father over to a nearby crate out of earshot from everyone else in the cargo bay.

"Mal, I need you to listen to what I'm going to say, and I want you to write down what is on this piece of paper that I'm giving you with the rest of the medications that Simon has told you to get. These four medicines are vital to someone I know. I know that you can handle this, but I am begging you, do not leave that vault without every single bottle that they have in stock. Please!" She watched Zoe carefully out of the corner of her eye. She was listening to everything she was saying.

Taking the paper from her he looks at the words on it: Isoniazid, Rifampin, Pyrazinamide, and Ethambutol. He couldn't even dream of pronouncing these right. Good thing he had a list started on his forearm just under his sleeve. River watched as a frown marred his features. She thought for a moment before she ripped the list from his hand, Mal gave a surprised yelp as she did so, and walked over to Zoe. Zoe looked over the list carefully before she nodded.

"No worries, little one. I'll make sure to get these." Zoe said calmly. She smiled at Zoe before they all turned to rejoin the group and the argument that was going on between Jayne and Simon.

"No!" Jayne shouted. "I don't think she should be there."

"I don't believe you should be thinking" Simon said under his breath, earning him a slap on the back of the head from River as she walked over to them, and a deep brooding glare from Jayne.

"I'll be fine Jayne. Mattie needs the medicine." She whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Jayne couldn't argue after that. Mattie had to get better, and this was the only way that they could get a hold of what was needed.

The ambulance ride was crowded, and uncomfortable. It was silent inside, and Jayne was still upset about what Simon had said. It was obvious to everyone on the ship that Simon didn't think that he was good enough for little River. Mal was growing uncomfortable with the glares that he kept sending towards the body case Simon was enclosed in. He decided it was best to just start going over the rules, and that would hopefully distract Jayne long enough to get over it.

"We speak only when spoken to; we avoid all unnecessary contact, and we stay together until we reach the morgue. Understood?" He spoke as if he was addressing both Zoe and Jayne, but it was really only directed at the latter of the two.

"Yes, sir." Zoe nodded. Mal turned back as he heard Jayne mumbling to himself.

"We applied the cortical electrode…"

"Jayne?"

"…were unable to get a neural response." He finished his line and then answered Mal. "Yeah, yeah, I got it."

"Are we gonna have a problem?" Mal looked at the younger man skeptically.

"I know what I gotta do." He said coldly.

"That's not what I'm talking about. Am I gonna have a problem with you and Simon?" He raised an eyebrow in Jayne's direction.

"That's up to him."

"Look, I get that Doc ain't the easiest to get along with, and I understand that he insulted ya earlier. That's bound to make anyone a mite ornery, so I figure—"

"It a good plan." Jayne interrupted Mal's train of thought.

"What?"

"The Doc did good coming up with that job. Don't mean I like him any better. Nothing buys bygones quicker than cash. Maybe I'll give him a tattoo while he's out." Jayne said, but Mal was still wary of his tone.

"Let him do his thing, and then you get him n' River out. No messing with him for laughs. Gotta keep River safe." Mal said sternly. He didn't care about the cash they were earning, or even if Jayne and Simon got along. His main concern was keeping River safe. Right now that was the only this that mattered.

"Didn't plan on anything different." Jayne nodded.

"Your doing it for her ain't ya?" Mal smirked slightly. He liked Jayne alright. He wasn't a bad kid. He just didn't always use his brain.

"Yer half right." Jayne said. Mal thought it was best to leave it at that. Jayne wasn't much for words, but when it came to River, Mal noticed that was one area that Jayne didn't mess around with. He felt the familiar jolt of the ambulance setting down. Both he and Jayne felt their stomachs drop as they exited through the hatch. It didn't feel right having River here, but they both knew that there was little they could do to stop her when she put her mind to something. Mal and Jayne carefully placed River's case on a gurney that Wash had wheeled over for them.

"We've only got a few hours left before the morning shift." Wash said as he and Zoe struggled with Simon's case.

"Won't be an hour." Wash nodded once and hopped back into the ambulance as Mal and Jayne struggled over who was going to push River's gurney into the hospital. After a few minutes of silent struggle Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Girls, you're both pretty. Mal you lead the way." She said sternly.

"Didn't know you gave the orders around here Zoe." Mal said as they slowly strolled towards the doors.

"If you two would have kept up your tug o' war someone would have noticed." She gave a quiet sigh as they walked through the doors.

The hospital was incredibly bright and white, and looked as if it would dirty very easily. People were walking in and out at a rapid pace. Zoe wrinkled her nose at the smell. She hated the Core, and she hated Core hospitals worse. They always smelled like antiseptic and that was never fun to be had around. Mal looked about for a moment in confusion and then slowly approached the nurse's station.

"What do you got?" One of the nurses asked in a monotone voice.

"Got a couple of DOAs, by the time we got there…"

"Take them down to the morgue." She said completely uninterested in whatever he had to say. Mal looked back to Zoe who shrugged and started pushing one gurney forward. They stopped dead in their tracks when they heard Jayne's voice.

"We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient." The nurse looked at Jayne for a moment and then looked back down at her work still uninterested. Mal grimaced at Jayne for a moment and then motioned for him to move forward.

The morgue was much like the rest of the hospital. Bright, white, and smelling of antiseptic. It weirded Jayne out as they opened the case that held River inside. She was so still that someone could honestly mistake her for being dead. He definitely didn't like it. Mal quickly injected River in the arm with whatever Simon had mixed up before they left and looked to Jayne.

"That should bring them out of it in a few minutes. Once they're up get them to the blood processing lab." He injected Simon before he continued. "Let Simon do his thing, and haul it back to the rendezvous. Fifty minutes." Jayne nodded.

"Got it. I'll just… sit right here." Mal nodded and headed towards the door along with Zoe and an empty body case. He paused briefly to turn around and address Jayne one more time. "The Doc's friend will be waiting for you in the blood lab. So try to be fast and make sure you keep your eye on him at all times. I've found that people get really stupid over money."

It felt like hours to Jayne before River and Simon woke up, but in reality it had only been fifteen minutes. He didn't like this situation one bit. He didn't like being in an environment that he wasn't use to. Put him in a bar on the Rim and he was at home. Place him on Serenity running around with River and he was relaxed. Being at home with Mattie and Ma was his kinda paradise. Those were the places Jayne was the most comfortable. On the Core? He was so out of place here. It was obvious to everyone he didn't fit in, and it made it even more blatantly obvious that he didn't belong with River.

"Copper for a kiss." He jumped and turned around to see River smiling at him. She started giggling and he realized that she was teasing him. They both jumped and turned to see Simon coughing heavily as he thrashed on the bed. Jayne looked to River who motioned for Jayne to go help him.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Jayne asked.

"Nothing." He coughed. "Just the after effects of the drugs. I'll be fine. Just give me a second."

"Well Riv seems okay." They both turned around at the sound of retching and splashing. Jayne was across the room in an instant pushing her hair back from her face cradling her head softly. "River-girl? Are you alright?" She nodded carefully as Jayne threw a small white bundle at Simon. "You gotta get dressed. We need ta move."

Jayne lost track of where they were. They made so many turns that he had become lost. Luckily Simon seemed to know where they were going. They were currently walking through the recovery ward and Jayne kept looking left and right for any signs of trouble. River was worried if he did it any faster his neck might snap.

"I don't think that intern has any idea what he's doing." River said motioning with her head towards the end bed.

"River he's fine." Simon said

"He looks confused." She said again.

"River, the doctors here are the best in the system. This is one of the top hospitals in the Core, or anywhere else for that matter." He said soothingly.

"This is where you should be." She said sadly. Just as they made it to the end of the room the patient's monitors started beeping wildly. River looked to her uncle for help. "You have to save him."

"River we don't have time." Simon tried to reason with her, but River was always compassionate about others. If someone needed help she was always the first one to offer it.

"CODE BLUE" One of the crash team nurses yelled.

"Stay here. Don't move." Simon ran to assist with the patient while Jayne looked on in amazement.

"He's such an amazing doctor." River smiled as she took in Jayne's face. River watched in awe as Simon worked his magic. This is what he was born to do. He was so in the moment that she knew he forgot all that was going on in his life. He had forgotten all about River and Jayne standing across the room. River instantly felt terrible. She tore him away from his life; from his calling. After a few more minutes Simon finished saving the patient, and walked back over to where they stood.

"Let's go" He said as he led the way out of the room.

The lab was empty except for one man who sat there preparing several machines. He was young, about Simon's age, with blonde hair. He was fit, and Tall River noticed as soon as he stood up. Simon embraced him giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"David, it's great to see you." Simon chuckled.

"And you Simon. Ah, hello River. How are you?" He looked to where she sat in the wheelchair that Jayne had been pushing.

"Same as always. Thank you for this David." She said stoically. She was nervous about David. She'd never really trusted him, and with the reward that was on her and Simon's head that would be a huge temptation for him.

"Ah… who's your friend?" David asked eying Jayne apprehensively.

"My apologies, David. Where are my manners?" Simon said quickly. "This is Jayne. River's, uh, friend."

"Nice to meet you." David stuck his hand out for Jayne to shake. Jayne simply stared at it until David awkwardly pulled it back. "Right…well… I suppose we should get these tests done."

River squeezed her eyes shut tight as Simon began taking the samples he needed to run the tests. Jayne sat there keeping an eye on David at all times. He, much like River, didn't trust this guy. He was hiding something. He looked toward the clock, and the door a bit too much for Jayne's liking. This guy was acting as if he was waiting for someone to show up. Jayne's train of thought was cut off as Simon began to look at the results of the tests.

"River, you need to take a look at these." He said motioning to the cortex screen he had pulled up.

"Simon we really need to get going." She said watching David even more now. Something wasn't right. He was moving around too much; like he was nervous about something.

"She's right we have to get moving." David said agreeing with her.

"But we still have twenty minutes." Simon turned raising an eyebrow at his friend. "You said you had the room booked for an hour. We don't need to rendezvous for awhile now."

"Sorry Simon I couldn't reserve it for that long. We have got to move before the other doctors come in to start their tests." River narrowed her eyes at the young doctor. Something just wasn't adding up.

"Well, I, I could use another couple minutes."

"We don't have the time." David said seeming a bit on edge. David led the small group through the door to leave. River stopped Jayne just as they exited the lab.

"Something's wrong." River whispered to Jayne.

"I feel it too. Just stay calm, and we'll get outta here. Alright?" She nodded and followed him down the hallway behind Simon.

The hallway was long and completely deserted, which seemed a bit unusual for a hospital as busy as St. Lucy's. River's eyes darted back and forth as she grabbed onto Jayne's hand for comfort. Something was definitely wrong, and before River could say something men came running towards them yelling for them to stop.

"Federal Marshals! Don't move!" Jayne pushed River behind him as guns started cocking. "River and Simon Tam, by the authority of the Union of Allied Planets, you are hereby bound by law." Just as they were about to put handcuffs on River Jayne punched one of the officers to the ground.

"Get your hands off of her!" He pulled her close, but before he could get anywhere, one of the officers fired on him with a stun gun dropping him to the floor instantly.

"Jayne!" She screamed while trying to pull away from a marshal putting handcuffs on her wrists. Jayne was in a daze as he slowly stood up. After they placed cuffs on his wrists he was brought back to the rest of the group. River made sure to stay by him as they were marched to the Processing Room.

The Processing Room was just as white and sterile as the rest of the blasted hospital. River was curious as to what they intended to do with them. Were they going to send her to jail, or were they going to call Atherton. If she was honest with herself she would rather go to jail. She noticed that David was oddly quiet sitting down on the other side of Simon. Jayne and Simon, oddly enough, were talking to each other.

"If those officers hadn't been armed I think you'd have had a chance." Simon whispered softly to Jayne.

"Yea… well I tried." Jayne shrugged as he scooted closer to River.

"I appreciate you trying." He told Jayne with honest appreciation.

"You know what I'd appreciate? You stop flapping that pretty mouth at me. I'm trying to figure a way out of here, and I can't do it with you yammering." River elbowed Jayne in the side. "Ow!"

"We are being arrested, and you still can't stop being mean to him." She said through her teeth.

"Sorry, ni zi. He just makes it so easy." Jayne snickered. He couldn't help it. When the opportunity presented itself he had to be mean to Simon. Before he could say anything else the officer in charge walked over towards River.

"Get up."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"I said get up." He pulled River up by the front of her shirt, jerking her a little to rough. Jayne gave a slight growl in his direction.

"Agent McGinnis, I'm certain you're working under a superior who is keeping close tabs on this case. I'm certain of that because important people don't do field work." She smirked at him. "I'm also quite certain your superior wants me alive. Now, I'm not going to move from this spot until one of two things happens. You answer my very simple question…" She paused leaning a little closer to him, challenging him. "Or you shoot me."

"We are transferring you into a holding area until you can be retrieved." He said trying to remain calm.

"Retrieved? By whom?" River looked more distressed by his statement as Jayne grew silently angrier.

"Your fiancé is sending some men to retrieve you, and these three will be taken into our custody." He turned to look at some of the other officers. "Take them."

Jayne was led into the room first and in a matter of seconds he struck the first guard in the face with his elbow. River brought her foot back slamming a guard in the shins dropping him just as fast as Jayne had to his own guard. Simon and Jayne pinned their guards against the wall as David cowered in the corner. Since River's guard was already out on the ground, she immediately took out his. As Jayne rolled over and began to pummel the guard who was still fighting Simon pressed his knee into the guard's throat sealing off his airway. River heard the sickening sound of one of the guard's neck's snap and knew when she turned around who had killed someone. They all stood up quickly making a mad dash for the door.

River got her barrings, and then bolted for the rear exit. She wasn't going to chance Jayne fighting the remaining guards. There had to be a back way out of here. She made her way down corridor after corridor hoping that they would find some back way through. Amazingly David was following them. She couldn't figure out why.

"I got no intention to run around like a rat in a maze 'til we're dead. Now, we're going back." Jayne said trying to get River's attention. At that moment they all heard blood curdling screams from the direction they had just come from.

Wide eyed and frightened she shouted to Jayne. "No! There's gotta be a way out in this direction." She said frantically. River looked around the last room they were in trying to find a door, a window, anything they could escape through. She knew that if they caught Jayne he would be put to death, or worse from the sounds of the screams. She couldn't handle that. Finally they saw a blue door at the far end of the room. Running to I Jayne quickly tried to open their way to salvation, but it was locked.

"Stand back." He shouted as he raised a gun he took off one of the officers. It misfired. "Shee-niou. High-tech Alliance crap." River felt the tears begin to fall down her face as she watched Jayne throw himself at the door over and over again. There was a sudden blast from the other side, and Jayne immediately stepped back grabbing River by the shoulders and planted a hard kiss on her lips before training the worthless piece of luh suh gun on the door. Everyone breathed a quick sigh of relief when they saw Mal and Zoe standing there. Mal motioned for them to get moving so they quickly bolted out of the hospital, and back to Serenity.

As they made their way up the ramp River saw Inara and Kaylee talking. Although Inara did look a bit horrified she smiled glad to see them all safe, and then looked down to see Jayne and River's hands entwined. She smiled a little harder this time glad to see the two of them had worked things out.

"Next time we come to the Core I'm staying with the Preacher." Jayne said giving a heavy sigh.

"Oh, you hadn't come you wouldn't be getting your big payday." Mal said slapping him on the back. "What happened to your face?" He frowned looking at the minor scratches that adorned his face.

"Huh?" He said as he reached up to feel the blood. "O, uh, nothin'."

"He was amazing." Simon announced gushing like a school girl. "I can't even begin to tell you." He gave Jayne a slight pat on the back. "We wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for him." He paused for just a moment. "Thank you!"

"Well, hey, you're part of my crew." Jayne shrugged. River smiled at the fact that he seemed to be trying. She turned to see David and frowned at how uncomfortable he looked. Before anyone could say anything River had picked up a wrench and slammed it into David's face successfully knocking him out. She dragged him into the airlock shutting the door.

"River?!" Simon screeched. "What are you doing?" David came to in a matter of minutes and quickly picked up the radio that River had left for him.

"Hey!" He called looking at her. "What are you doing?!"

"You know… something just didn't fit right with me. Why did the feds know we were there?" She glared at him through the glass.

"I have no idea."

"They showed up because you called them."

"No! I would never!" David exclaimed. "My hand to god, may he strike me down where I'm standing."

"Well," River shrugged. "You won't be standing there long." She paused and pointed to the cargo bay doors which were slightly opened. "The minute we break atmo, you'll be a lot thinner once you get sucked out that hole" Everyone was quiet as they listened to River try and get the truth from this man.

"Look I'm sorry!" David cried out desperately "I needed the money."

"I'm sorry too David." She sighed. "I'm sorry that you are so ridiculously stupid." And with that they had broken atmo and David was gone. She turned to face the silent room. "Well Jayne and I have to go discuss the terms of our marriage. We shall see you all at dinner." She smiled and grabbed Jayne's hand as she darted towards her room.

"Did she just kill David?" Simon looked around for answers desperately for what just happened.

"DID SHE SAY MARRIAGE?!" Mal yelled. "WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!"

**Alright so let me know what you think. Please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome. **


	20. Chapter 20

**I want to thank everyone who had been waiting patiently for this chapter. It really means a lot that you guys have been hanging on. I also want to thanks everyone who has favorited, started following or has reviewed I really appreciate it. I want to send out one last Thank You to my super awesome beta Irishbrneyes. Even though she has a lot on her plate she still manages to get these back to me quickly and do an amazing job at the same time.**

River was busy boxing up the remainder of medications that she had Zoe snatch during the job while they were on Ariel. River couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face as she thought of Mattie finally getting the medicine that she needed. Medicine that would make her better, and allow her to be able to run around outside like other children her age. Putting Mrs. Cobb on the address tag, and just about to finish by sealing is closed, she realized that she had run out of tape. She turned to ask Simon for some more, but paused when she noticed both he, and Book, were looking over the information Simon had gleaned from the tests done on her DNA. She sighed to herself when she realized that she would just have to get it herself.

"Have you ever read the works of Shan Yu?" Book asked Simon without turning away from the data.

"Shan Yu, the psychotic dictator?" Simon, rather stunned, finally looked away from the screen full of information. How would a man like the Shepherd know of someone as despicable as that?

"Yep. Fancied himself quite the warrior poet. Wrote volumes on war, torture…the limits of human endurance."

"That's nice…" Simon said halfheartedly as he turned back to the things that he deemed more important. He wasn't even going to mention the fact that all of this data was taking his mind off of his niece's imprudent marriage to that hulking man-ape.

"He said _'live with a man 40 years, share his house, his meals, speak on every subject. Then tie him up and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day you will finally meet the man.'"_

"What if you don't live near a volcano?" The three occupants of the room turned at the sound of Jayne's questioning voice. Simon rolled his eyes as River launched herself into his arms before planting a kiss on his lips.

"I expect he was being poetical." Book said flatly.

"Sadistic crap legitimized by florid prose. Tell me you're not a fan." River said as Jayne placed her gently back on the ground. Simon rolled his eyes once more before looking back at the screen.

"Simon!" River turned to glare at her uncle. "Roll your eyes one more time, and I'll pluck them right out of your head." She said while smiling sweetly at him. If he was honest it was a bit creepy. Silence filled the infirmary for a few seconds before Book cleared his throat.

"I'm just wondering if they were. The people who did whatever it was that they did to your mother, River, and in an indirect way to you." He said kick-starting the conversation that had ceased.

"The government did that to Abigail." Simon stated firmly.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." Book said with a slight smile.

"Now you're quoting the Captain." Simon chuckled slightly at Book's attempt at a joke.

"I'm just wondering if they made her that way just to see how far they could actually push a human being." River and Jayne stopped what they were doing to hear the rest of the conversation.

"I-I don't understand." Simon gave him a questioning look.

"I imagine they were messing with Abigail's genes…" He looked to Simon who nodded meaning that he was indeed correct. "To try and make the best human possible, and see how far they could push her. Didn't you mention that there were others?" He asked looking between River and Simon.

"Most are dead, and we're unaware of what happened to the ones who survived." River answered softly.

"Yes well, maybe you should find where the rest of them are." Book advised.

"That is what I had in mind. Maybe with the credits we earn from the medicine the Captain will allow us to take a brief break from all of the…" Simon paused trying to think of a better word for crime. "Jobs."

"Yes, I'd forgotten you're moonlighting as a criminal mastermind now. Got your next heist planned?" Just as Book and Simon were finishing up their conversation, Kaylee walked by the open infirmary door with an apple. River smirked wrenching it from her hand before darting off down the hall towards the cargo bay.

"No, but I'm thinking of growing a big black mustache. I'm a traditionalist." Simon joked and then quickly frowned at the sound of River's peels of laughter coming from down the hall. "Barely old enough to not be considered a child and she's married."

"Yes, well what always made me laugh about young women was that when you tell them not to do something it always seems to make them more determined to do it." Book paused in thought for a moment. "I think it's best to leave it alone." Simon sighed and then turned back to his work.

* * *

Kaylee and River couldn't stop giggling as they ran in between the crates in the cargo bay. Every time Kaylee thought she had the drop on River she would quickly duck around the next box. Mal and Inara were in a heated discussion on the lower catwalk when River let out a loud shriek as Kaylee came close to catching her.

"You give that back!" Kaylee grinned. "I mean it!" The Captain and Inara both observed the spectacle of the two girls acting like children as they continued their conversation.

"I said yes already. Where's the outstanding issue?" Mal pressed getting fed up with the whole thing.

"The Councilor is a very private person and I…" Inara sighed in frustration as Mal cut her off, mid-speech, yet again.

"So he visits you here instead of you going to his place. Fine. Is the ship not clean enough?" Mal looked about actually concerned that his ship might be dirty.

"I just want the Councilor to feel comfortable. And when I say comfortable I mean totally alone." Mal lets out another annoyed sigh as River and Kaylee's squeals of delight overpowered any other noise in the room.

"Ah, the pitter-patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." Mal smiled at Inara before turning and placing both of his hands on the rails as he shouted at the girls. "SHADDAP!" He nodded once back to Inara and continued the previous conversation. "There's nobody sets foot on my boat that I don't meet 'em." Don't worry. I won't start any sword fights. I'm over that phase." He said with a roguish grin on his face.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you would keep the others from ogling." She pressed her lips firmly together in worry. River and Kaylee continued to giggle loudly as they ran up the stairs in the general direction of Mal and Inara.

"One of you is gonna fall, and die, and I'm not cleaning it up." Mal yelled reaching out his arm to stop them as they made to run past.

"She took my apple!" Kaylee said while catching her breath.

"Jayne bought a whole crate of them." Inara smiled while trying to reason with the two girls.

"And that one's mine!" Kaylee smirked at River.

"No, technically my husband bought them so they're all mine!" River laughingly stated before running off with said apple once again. Inara didn't miss how Mal winced at the word _husband._ She chuckled slightly patting Mal on the arm before walking into her shuttle.

* * *

Up in the mess, Zoe and Wash were at the table eating some of the delicious apples Jayne had bought when Kaylee and River streaked passed them. Landing on the crash chairs they wrestled briefly before Kaylee gave a cry of victory as she proudly held up her apple. She turned and smiled at River playfully.

"No power in the 'verse can stop me!" She gave River one more smile before taking a huge bite. Wash looked at River and smiled. He'd taken to thinking of her like a daughter and he enjoyed moments like this; just being happy. Buddha knows she deserved it.

"How you doin'?" He grinned seeing River's face flush from her latest exertion.

"I am very well. Thanks for asking." She smirked as she crossed the mess to grab an apple of her own.

"These really are the genuine article. I could get used to being rich." Zoe smiled as she carefully cut small wedges out of her apple, and started eating them.

"It's Jayne being so generous with his cut that confuses and frightens me." Wash joked and then looked to River again. "Although I guess we have a certain little miss to thank for the change."

"Yea…" Zoe thought. "It still kinda freezes the blood."

"Maybe he's trying to butter you up…" Wash said offhandedly. River raised an eyebrow at him. "For like a baby or somethin'." He laughed slightly as River began to cough up the bit of apple she was swallowing.

"Zoe, how come you always cut up your apples?" Kaylee asked twisting her head slightly to the side.

"You do?" Wash looked back to his wife to see indeed she had her apple cut up into pieces.

"Her an' the Captain both. Whenever we get fresh fruit you never just munch on 'em." She stated.

"Do you know what a Grizwald is?" Zoe asked as she continued cutting up her apple.

"It's a grenade." Jayne answered as he came down the steps from the crew quarters into the room. While River and Kaylee had run around the cargo bay Jayne had been moving things around in his bunk to make room for River and her belongings.

" 'Bout the size of a battery." Zoe showed the relative size with her fingers. "Responds to pressure. Our platoon was stuck in a trench outside New Kasmir during the winter campaign. More 'n 'a week, completely cut off, and the Alliance entrenched not ten yards away. We even got to talking with 'em, yelling across insults and jokes and such, 'cause no ammo to speak off, no orders. What are you gonna do? We mentioned we were out of rations and ten minutes later a buncha apples rained into the trench."

"And they grew into a big tree and they climbed up the tree into a magical land with unicorns and a harp. Honey, there are children present." Wash interrupted as he looked between his wife and _young_ River who was sitting on the other side of the room listening intently to Zoe's story.

"Tiny helpless children…" River raised an eyebrow at Wash and then turned her attention back to Zoe.

"Blew off their heads, huh?" Kaylee asked with a sad, stoic, demeanor no one had ever witnessed on the mechanic before.

"Captain said wait, but they were so hungry. Don't make much noise, just little pops and there's three guys kinda just end at the ribcage." Zoe quieted up as Mal entered the room.

"But these apples are good and health some." Wash said trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Jayne said dryly. "Grenades cost extra."

They all watched in silence as Mal picked an apple up from the bunch and began to cut it up. He looked around the room and noticed everyone was staring at him. He gave them all curious looks and then began to speak.

"We're about 20,000 miles from our last drop, people. Then we can take a break. Think about spending some of this money." He smiled slightly as everyone cheered.

"Could've made more…" Wash said under his breath.

"It wasn't a bad idea, Wash, but eliminating the middleman is never as simple as it sounds." Wash looked at Mal in shock and then turned his attention to Zoe who was having a hard time looking at him.

"So you heard about my…" Wash started, but the Captain wasn't finished with his speechifyin'

" 'Bout fifty percent of the human race is middlemen, and they don't take kindly to being eliminated. This quadrant we play nice. Got enemies enough as it is."

* * *

Niska watched in calm, gleeful, silence as one of his employees finished torturing a man. He was hanging from the ceiling barely conscious. Niska didn't even flinch as his employee reared back his arm and cracked the man across the chest with the rusted barbed wire one more time.

"Hold please." He spoke to the torturer before he turned his attention back to his victim. "So. Now we are past the…uh…the preliminaries. The little questions-why you skim from the protection fund, how you could betray my trust-this we are past." He looked to the torturer who handed him a knife. "Now we get to the real questions. About you. About who you truly-"

"I'm sorry, sir." One of his younger workers entered the room carefully, afraid to be on his bosses bad side.

"Ach!" He exclaimed. "I get to the heart of the matter and always interruptions."

"One of our long ranges picked up a read on the other side of the world." He pushed on knowing that Niska would be happy with the news he was bringing. "Might be Serenity. Malcolm Reynolds' boat."

"Oh!" He said with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "Oh, this is exciting news! Malcolm Reynolds, I must see him again!" He turned back to the man who was barely hanging onto consciousness. "If it's any consolation, what I'm going to do to Captain Reynolds will make this seem like a breeze." He smiled slightly and turned back to the employee who was shuffling nervously by the door. "Send a team. The best. Get his daughter as well. Very exciting."

"Yes, sir." The man nodded and quickly exited the room.

"Now." Niska stepped towards the man who flinched. "We get to spend sometime finding out about your true self, yes. Tell me…" He smiled at him as he slowly dug the knife into his side. The man gasped opening and closing his mouth, trying and failing to scream. "Are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu?"

* * *

Wash was doing his best to bring Serenity down carefully while he continued having an argument with Zoe. It was blatantly obvious by the look on her face that she didn't want to be having this conversation. He continued his questioning without stopping all the while his tone remained dry.

"So when you said you didn't get a chance to tell the captain my idea…" he lead her to answer on her own.

"Yeah-huh?" her voice was unusually small and reserved.

"What you actually meant was that you told him my idea. He rejected it out of hand, and you didn't argue the point or even give it another thought."

"I gave! Honey, I…"

"And then came the lying to me about it, which for me is sort of the highlight of this little adventure." He smiled at her, but it never met his eyes.

"Is there anyway I can get out of this with honor and dignity?" She asked almost a begging tone to her voice.

"You're pretty much down to ritual suicide, lambie-toes." He joked with no humor behind his eyes.

"I didn't want to upset you." She sighed.

"What did you think of it?" He asked hopeful.

"Of what?"

"My idea! Call the local MD's. Forget the fence and go to the source. Better prices, and we know the drugs get to the right people."

"Captain thinks it'll get back to someone; just cause trouble." She shrugged as she used Mal's reasoning as a scapegoat.

"Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-shiouh doh sai-jin wuh dhu pigu. Was I ever not asking what the captain thought." He almost yelled as he slammed his hand down near the controls.

"Well, I tend to agree with him." Zoe said standing up to face Wash.

"Tend to?" His voice began to squeak as he grew more upset. "Or have to? I love that you two are old army buddies, and have wacky stories with ribcages in them, but could you have an opinion of your own please?" He begged.

"You're losing the high ground here, sweet-cakes." She was beginning to grow angry and Wash could hear the venom in her words. Jayne, who had been exiting his bunk to meet up with River, stopped just short of the stairs to the cockpit when he heard the couple arguing.

"I'm sure you and Mal will take that hill and fortify it with the bodies of…"

"I thought your plan was too risky." She said effectively silencing him. "I. Thought." Zoe made sure to enunciate each word so there were no mistakes. Even Jayne felt the heat coming off of her down the hall.

"Then tell me!" He shouted back at her. "I'm a large, semi-muscular man! I can take it! Don't hide behind Mal 'cause you know he'll shoot it down for you. Tell me."

"Right, 'cause what this marriage needs is one more shouting match." She rolled her eyes.

"No, what this marriage needs is one less husband." He paused and looked around the room. "Right now it's kind of crowded." He looked at her one more time before he shook his head and headed towards Jayne. Jayne was trying to hold in his laughter, but was failing miserably.

"Think that was the dumbest thing you ever done." Jayne smirked.

"You're married, now. You'll know soon enough." Wash said as he stormed past him.

Jayne shrugged heading off towards the crew lounge where River and Kaylee were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Inara's mysterious client- _The Councilor._ Book, who was quietly reading on the couch, would find himself, every once in awhile, looking up at the two young girls.

"Didn't Inara express a wish for privacy?" He asked raising a questioning eyebrow at them. He smiled lightly as he saw Jayne walk up behind River and wrap his arms around her placing his chin on top of her head.

"Oh, we have to see who she's got!" River excitedly exclaimed smiling back at him.

"I bet he's handsome." Kaylee gushed. She always thought that Inara's life was so glamorous.

"You gonna give him a lecture on the evils of fornicatin'?" Jayne scoffed not bothering to look back at Book.

"Astonishingly enough, Jayne, I have other things on my mind." Book replied.

"Do you think he'll bring her flowers?" Kaylee wondered in awe.

"She's a whore Kaylee. This ain't a date." Jayne pointed out while trying not to laugh at her naiveté. Kaylee looked slightly upset, and River looked back at him disapprovingly.

"What?!" he asked.

"That's one." She said calmly as she turned back to watch Inara who was busy shooting all of them a very disapproving look. Kaylee, in all her happy go lucky glory, smiled and gave her a big thumbs up.

"Honestly Mal…" She began when a tall, handsome man in a suit and sunglasses walked slowly up the ramp.

"Seems a respectable sort." Mal looked at Inara and shrugged.

"Oohh! There he is!" Kaylee squealed excitedly. Book, who had been sitting patiently reading his book, popped up from his seat on the couch and craned over the girls to see. The man walked around for a bit looking over the cargo bay. Mal walked up to him with his hand extended.

"Welcome aboard. I'm Capt…" Mal wasn't able to finish his sentence as the man turned away and depressed the comm in his ear.

"We're all clear, here, Councilor." As he finished the all okay a tall, beautiful woman slowly made her way onto the ship. She was in her mid 30's, blonde, and very composed. Inara calmly walked over to her smiling and took her hands in her own.

"Oh, man." Jayne said under his breath earning another glare from River. "What?!"

"That's two!" she said through her teeth.

"Huh!" Was all Mal managed to squeak out as Inara lead the Councilor towards the stairs and up to her shuttle.

"Oh my." Book said softly.

"Well…gosh. I knew she took female clients but…They look so glamorous together…" She said just as confused, and amazed, as the rest of them.

"We'll be in our bunk." Jayne said as he tugged River in the direction of their room. She quickly smacked his hands away moving out of his reach, and glared so hard that Jayne expected daggers to come flying at him from her eyes.

"That's three." She said loudly as she stormed off towards the front of the ship, and the cockpit. Jayne stared after her for a few minutes and then turned back to look at Kaylee and Book in stunned silence.

"You're an idiot." Kaylee said smacking him over the back of his head. "No woman wants to go to _** bed **_with her man knowin' that the thought of two other women bein' together is what made him want to go there in the first place. Tyen-sah you're a shagwa!" With that she left to get back to work in the engine room.

"Son, it seems you have a lot to learn about marriage." Book chuckled softly as he walked out of the room leaving a perplexed Jayne in his wake.

* * *

Zoe was busy prepping shuttle two when she started having trouble working the controls. Mal was busy securing the payload into then small storage room. Zoe gave a discontented sigh, and tried to continue with her work.

"Bolles is ready and waiting. Lucrative as this stuff is I'll be glad to see the last of it. Kinda makes us a target…"

"Did Kaylee get in here and start mucking about again?" Zoe asked giving another exasperated sigh. "Ignition sequence is completely turned about. I can't even…"

"I can." Wash called out as he stepped over the threshold of the shuttle.

"Get it set, okay? We got to be moving." Mal ordered before turning around and continuing his work.

"Here's a funny twist: no." Wash said flatly.

"No what?" Mal turned and looked, actually shocked that Wash was openly defying him.

"No, Sir." Wash mocked using Zoe's traditional sign off to the Captain.

"You changed the sequence?" Zoe looked at him accusingly.

"No." They all turned to see River standing just inside the door smiling at them. "I did that, but Wash is one of only two who can fix it."

"Didn't want you taking off without me. In fact, I didn't want you taking off at all. Thought maybe I'd take this run instead. Me and the Captain." Explained Wash matter-of-factly.

"And me." Piped up River as Mal looked at her questioningly. She was holding the file that Simon had printed out for her.

"No." Mal said flatly. "To both of you."

"Okay well have fun trying to get the shuttle flying. It shouldn't take Kaylee more than five days. Maybe four if you're lucky." She wiggled her fingers as she turned to leave, but was stopped by Mal's grip on her arm.

"JAYNE!" Mal yelled. They waited for a few moments for him to arrive. They could hear his heavy footfalls as he came from the mess, hall, over the catwalks, and into the shuttle.

"What?!" He asked looking putout at having to come such a distance while raising an eyebrow at them for effect.

"I'm needin' you to control your wife." Mal said pinching the bridge of his nose. Jayne began to laugh and then paused looking down at Mal skeptically.

"You were serious?" He raised an eyebrow. "Yea…she's already mad at me enough so… you have fun with that." Jayne said saluting to the Captain before walking off to his bunk.

"It's all right. We've dealt with Bolles before. Shouldn't be a problem if they both want to go. I wouldn't mind sitting this one out, sir." Mal looked between River, Wash and Zoe. For once he was actually speechless.

"Oh, this is a fine fang-tzang fong-kwong duh zie, but I don't have time to unwind it." He sighed, annoyance dripping from every syllable he uttered. "Wash, you and River get her started. Zoe…" He gave another exasperated sigh. "The ship is yours." Wash smiled and waved at her from the co-pilot chair before she had a chance to exit.

"Bye hon. We promise not to stop for beers with the fellas." Zoe rolled her eyes, but continued to smile at him.

"I'll keep him in line, and watch his back for you. Don't worry." River told her while running the pre-flight checks.

"Which one?" Zoe asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Both of them." She says as Zoe exits the shuttle. As she arrives in the cockpit, and takes a seat in the pilot's chair, she sees the shuttle just disappearing over the horizon. _Return em' home safe is all I ask _she prays to no deity in particular.

* * *

This planet wasn't necessarily known for its beauty. It was mostly barren, dry deserts, but River felt it had it's own charm. Every so often she would peer out the windshield, and smile as they passed over plants that were struggling to live. She could relate to them, as hard as it seems, trying to survive where the odds are stacked so high against survival of any kind. She thought back to the files that her uncle had given her to read. She had to concede that the truth about her genetics, and her mother's genetics, was definitely interesting, and worth looking into. If not for the proof before her eyes she would find the whole thing a bit hard to believe. If Atherton knew anything about this, which was highly probable with the steps he'd taken to insure her recovery, then she knew that he would never let her go once he found her.

"So, not a man?" Wash asked Mal effectively derailing River's train of thought.

"Not so much." Mal said flatly.

"Shensheng de gaowan." He breathed out in astonishment. His eyes as wide as saucers.

"I mean, I knew her clientele was…" he paused looking for a good word. "Varied…"

"Yeah," Wash, for all his joking, was stumbling over his words too. "but, I mean, you know…ai ya."

"Yeah." Mal said unable to think of anything else to say.

"Don't pay attention to him Wash. He believes that if Inara prefers women to men then he'll never have a chance." River said loudly from her passenger chair behind them, before returning to her reading.

"Look, this thing with you and Zoe…" Mal was trying his best to get the topic of conversation away from his and Inara's love life.

"Really not looking to talk on that topic." Wash said trying to end the conversation, but Mal pressed on as River shook her head.

"Hey! I let that goushi trick of yours slide 'cause this is a milk run. But I go on a mission, I'm taking Zoe and that's the drill. You know that. Suppose we get into a situation here."

"Hey, I've been in a firefight before." Wash said almost hurt that Mal didn't consider him tough or dependable. River was trying her best to stay out of it. She had enough issues with Jayne as it was, no need to start packing on others problems as well. "Well, I was in a fire. Actually, I was fired, from a fry cook opportunity—I can handle myself." He finally told the Captain.

"And you understand what Zoe's job entails?" Mal looked over at him raising an eyebrow.

"I'll learn as I go." Wash shrugged and began the procedures to decelerate, and land the shuttle as they neared the location for the meet.

It wasn't a far walk from the shuttle to their meeting spot; just down a small hill. Bolles and his two men were waiting, rather impatiently, just ahead of them. Bolles was the type of man that River would have avoided in her previous life. It wasn't because he might stab them in the back, but because he was so unpleasant and rude. He was rather hefty while his two men were scrawnier. Wash was busy struggling with the container of medicine, while River, files tucked safely in the bag on her back, walked just behind the two of them.

"So, now I'm learning about carrying." Wash joked.

"That it?" Bolles asked shouting the distance between them as they finished their trek towards his group.

"As described. The money?" Mal asked as Wash carefully set the container on the ground.

"Open it first." Bolles ordered rudely. Wash looked at Mal for the go ahead, and at his nod, Wash pries the box open with a knife. Bolles looks in and grins at the sight of the medicine. "Nice to know you're still trustworthy."

"Not so trustworthy that I don't want to see that money you promised me." Mal's face remained calm, but serious, as he watched Bolles pull a money pouch from his pocket. He tossed it to Mal underhanded as his two men grabbed up the container.

"Can't believe you knocked over an Alliance hospital. The pair you have!" Bolles laughed as he shook his head.

"Stuff legends are…" Mal stops mid-sentence as he notices a red dot shining on Bolles' forehead. Mal looks back at River thinking she's messing with him, but notices she's looking around the area just as concerned as he is. "Tzao-gao!" Mal yells out just as a shot rang out. Bolles was the first to be dropped as Mal Mal tackled Wash to the ground. River, who was already aware of what was going to transpire, was lying in the sand with her head covered by her arms and hands. She heard the familiar thump of Bolles' two associates falling to the ground. As she glanced up she saw men in desert camouflage begin to approach them with their rifles at the ready. Wash looked over at Mal and River making sure they were okay.

"Now I'm learning about scary."

"SHUT UP WASH!" Mal and River yell at the same time.

* * *

Jayne was busy helping spot Book lifting weights as Inara and the Councilor exit her shuttle; giggling as they descend the stairs. Jayne couldn't help but ogle the two women his mind running wild, but then his thoughts flickered to River and the nice bruised shoulder he had as a reminder of just how hard she could punch. As Book begins to struggle with the weight Jayne reaches down one hand and places the bar back into its holder. He begins to think maybe it's just best to stay in his room until River gets back.

"I'll be in my bunk." He says only partially aware of how the Shepherd might be taking his statement. As he turns to go Zoe stops him.

"Jayne, grab your weapon." Book raised his eyebrows at the double entendre which Jayne hadn't picked up on.

"Why?" He asked starting to panic just thinking of River in the field. He knew she could handle herself, but he also knew that Mal had a tendency to be stupid, and if he was in danger she would lay down arms to keep him safe. "What's going on?"

"Maybe nothing." She shrugged. "Maybe trouble."

"The drop?" Jayne asked, as panic started to make it presence known in his voice.

"They're late." She nodded. "Shoulda been back more 'n an hour ago."

"You try to radio them?" Book asked joining the conversation.

"Errand such as this, Captain always orders radio silence until the deal's made." She said as she shook her head no. "If there was trouble…he shoulda been the one to break it."

"That's if he even could." Jayne offers up. They all contemplate this silently. Zoe turns to Jayne ready to order him, although she knows she doesn't have to. He's just as worried about River as she is about Wash.

"We go by ground." Jayne nodded and started to walk out of the room, but paused as Book began to speak.

"I'll go with you."

"No offense, Shepherd—but I sure as hell hope they don't need a preacher." Zoe said. She didn't want to tell the preacher that he would just be useless, but it was the truth.

"Three sets of eyes'll be better'n two. Might see something you don't." Book says softly. Zoe thinks it over for a minute and then nods.

"Let's move."

* * *

The mule was sitting up on the ridge sitting next to the Shuttle. It was empty much to Jayne's chagrin. A small part of him hoped that River would have stayed back, and hid out in the shuttle. If he hadn't upset her she would still be safe on Serenity, and he wouldn't be so worried. Zoe was down on the ground looking over the dead bodies when Jayne joins her. Book remained by both vehicles looking for any signs of where they might be.

"Bolles." Zoe said as she turned over the first dead body.

"None of 'em ours." Jayne said giving a sigh of relief over not seeing River's body laid out on the hot desert sand. Book, finally curious as to what happened to the men, walked down and began to examine the bodies.

"This is precision work. Sharpshooters. From the look of these wounds I'd say a 54R Sniper Rifle. Laser sights." Jayne looked over suspiciously at Book.

"You do a lot of shootin' at the abbey, Shepherd?"

"Rabbits." Book said matter-of-factly.

"For stew. Sure." Jayne said rolling his eyes just like River.

"Whoever did this…they weren't after the goods." Zoe said as she pointed to the box of meds that had been tipped over.

"No. They were after our people." Book shook his head, looking around for any sign of where they went.

"Laid in wait." Jayne said looking around at the terrain. Zoe listened to him quietly. She knew that, for all Jayne's idiotic tendencies, he was one hell of a tracker, and he was their best shot at getting their lost lambs back. "Patient under this sun. Triangular formation. Probably trenched in—there." He pointed to a small bush. "Maybe…" He thought for a moment, "there." He pointed to another small outcropping of dead bushes. He paused as he came across the best evidence as to the whereabouts of their crew. "We ain't gonna find 'em here. They're off planet already." Book and Zoe looked down on the ground to where he was pointing. Two black scorch marks stood out against the color of the sand, and led off into the distance. "Only one kinda transport I know leaves that kinda mark."

"Fast burn rocket shuttle." Zoe said confusion marred her usual calm and stoic features.

"Craft like that wouldn't commonly be part of a ship. More likely we're looking at—"

"A space station." She paused as the realization set in. "I know who's got them…"

* * *

River was taking her time to calm down. She knew exactly where she was and who had them. That fact, above all others, made her afraid. The room, like the rest of the space station she had seen before, was mostly bare with just a few things to decorate it. She was tied to a chair, her arms around her back her feet were separated and each tied to a different leg of the chair. She pulled at her bindings, but they were very tight. She paused when she heard shuffling around in the next room, and then she heard the unmistakable sound of Wash speaking.

"MAL! WASH!" She cried out to them.

"RIVER!" She heard their loud, but muffled cries to her. "RIVER ARE YOU OKAY? HAVE YOU BEEN HURT?" That was definitely Mal's voice she heard.

"NO I'M ALRIGHT!" She cried back.

"I'M GOING TO GET US OUT OF HERE!" Mal yelled to her reassuringly.

"OR I CAN…" Wash called out to her also.

"SHUT UP WASH!" River and Mal yelled again.

Wash and Mal were far more worried about River than they were about themselves. They had been tossed into a room hands tied behind their backs, and blind-folded. Wash was doing his best to figure out where they were. _Was it a ship? Had they even left the planet?_ It was hard to tell, but he was pretty sure they had indeed left the planet.

"It's not a ship. I don't think we're traveling." Wash said almost positive with his statement.

"Good to know." Mal said also trying to think of where they were, and who would have taken them.

"What in the name of god is that smell?" Wash said his voice bordering on panic. Mal knew he had to get him to calm down. He knew, recalling his time fighting in the war, that panic could be just as dangerous as any enemy they could face.

"Could be anything. Try not to think about it."

"Okay. I'll just…I'll stop breathing. Mal, what the hell is going on?" Wash tensed up at the sound of yelling, but he quickly relaxed when he realized River was answering him from the next room over.

"IT'S NISKA!" She hollered. "NISKA HAS US!" But it fell on deaf ears.

"What gives you the right to put her in a dangerous situation like this?" Wash demanded. He turned in the direction he thought Mal was standing and began to demand answers.

"Who? River?" Mal was so confused.

"Well…I guess River, too, but I think Jayne will be far more concerned with that." Wash joked. He couldn't help it. It was just who he was. "I meant Zoe."

"I didn't." Mal was growing even more confused. What dangerous situation was he talking about?

"You did!" Wash retorted.

"She ain't here, Wash." Mal countered by pointing out the obvious.

"No, but she would have been!" Wash hollered. "It never really hit me until…well until I got hit. And blindfolded, and kidnapped…and this smell is burning my nostrils!"

"JUST STOP! YOU TWO ARE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!" River screamed through the wall, but Mal and Wash simply ignored her.

"I mean, I'm the one she swore to love, honor, and obey!" Mal was about to yell when something about Wash's last statement hit him.

"She swore to obey?" He asked astounded.

"Well…no." Wash thought back to their vows. "Not..but that's my point! You she obeys! She obeys you! There's obeying happening right under my nose!"

"Zoe and I have a history. She trusts me." Mal pointed out to his seething pilot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wash was growing angry now. His panic had pretty much faded.

"I think there are more important things to be worrying about!" River yelled at them again. They continued their argument with no acknowledgement to her.

"Don't mean a thing. You're making out like Zoe just blindly follows my every word, and that ain't true." Mal continued to mentally push him. Saying just the right thing to nudge him slightly closer to all out war between the two. Anything to keep him from panicking.

"Sure it is." Mal flinched at Wash's words, but continued to prod him further.

"Not so. There've been plenty of orders of mine she didn't obey." Mal knew at this point he would driver Wash over the edge.

"I'M TIED TO A CHAIR OVER HERE!" River yelled at the two bumbling buffoons in the next room.

"Name one!" Wash demanded.

"SHE MARRIED YOU!" Mal exploded.

Wash was astonished he knew that the Captain didn't agree with their marriage, but he didn't ever think that he had tried to stop it. They both jumped at the sound of a door opening and shutting. The click of hard soled shoes was slowly growing louder. _What had River said earlier? _BothMal and Wash weren't sure since they were too busy arguing with one another. Mal felt a finger come up and hook onto the top of his blindfold. Mal was blind for just a moment as the blindfold was snagged of his eyes. The lights seemed so bright, but as his eyes adjusted he was able to make out shapes, and colors. Then he saw the last person he ever wanted to see standing right in front of him. He felt his stomach drop out.

"Tah-mah-duh hun-dan!" Mal cursed.

"What?" Wash asked whipping his head back and forth completely unaware of just how much go se they were in.

* * *

Zoe was standing in the mess gathering up everybody's credits, and shoving it into a duffel bag. She already had Book's, Simon's, and Inara's. Kaylee, for the first time in eons, was frowning as she entered the room, and handed Zoe a handful of cash.

"Here's all I got left." She frowned apologetically.

"Thanks." Zoe nodded and then called out loudly. "Jayne!"

"How do you know he won't just grab you as well?" Book said in a cautioning tone.

"Don't think that's like to happen. I walk in there unarmed…make the offer. Niska has his own code; twisted as it may be. Very excited about _reputation_. He'll see reason."

"Reason? He's a gangster. The money he paid you for that other job, it was already returned to him." Inara was concerned about the whole thing. She didn't like this idea, but it didn't really seem like they had any other options.

"Could be he's harboring some resentment at us for puttin' his man through our engine." Jayne speculates as he tosses a big stack of bills to Zoe. She looks at it in astonishment and then shoves it in the bag with a shrug.

"Yea…River makes me save some of it." Jayne says answering her unasked question.

"Wait a reasonable amount of time, but if you don't hear back you take Serenity, and you get out of this quadrant. This don't play out right there's no guarantee he wouldn't come looking for the rest of you." Before Jayne could say anything about him coming as well she walked out of the mess.

* * *

Niska was taking exquisite joy in watching Mal and Wash being tortured. Mal and Wash were both tied, backs together, against a pole. Their shirts had been ripped open and electrodes placed sporadically all over their chest. Mal began to seize as the torturer, under Niska's command, turned up the power. River who had been was still sitting in the next room tied to the chair, winced every time she heard Mal or Wash cry out in pain. She gave a quiet sigh of relief as the screaming stopped and then continued to work on her bindings.

"I'm not…gonna say it…" Mal managed to huff out as he turned his head back towards Wash behind him. "…again. Shipboard romance complicates things."

"For who? For you?" Wash exclaimed trying his best to remain standing. He couldn't believe that Mal was still arguing about this. There were far more important things to deal with now.

"For everyone."

"Yeah? Well, what about lo— VEAAHHH!" He paused to cry out mid sentence as he was shocked.

"Ain't against it as a rule. But in a situation such as ours, tends to cause problems. Splits loyalties." Mal said as he fought back the pain and the urge to pass out, but he knew he couldn't not with Wash and River with him.

"Know what I think?"

"What?" Mal asked trying to keep him focused.

"I hire you to do job…" Niska nodded to the torturer again. Both Wash and Mal received another jolt. River winced in the other room again and began to struggle faster. She knew if she didn't get out soon, Niska would kill the both of them. "Job does not get done…"

"What? What do you think, Wash? 'cause I'm interested." Mal strained craning his neck trying to get a glimpse of Wash who he felt beginning to slag slightly.

"Huh?" was Wash managed to get out.

"You make lie of my reputation…" Niska said accusingly.

"You were gonna say something to me. What was it?"

"Wha-?" Wash said barely aware of the situation. "Oh. This 'policy' you got against shipboard relationships…how's that pertain to little River and Jayne."

"I show you my reputation is no lie. Is truth—" before niska could finish his sentence River's voice flowed through the wall and cut him off.

"HEY WASH! YOU LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS! THIS IS YOUR FIGHT!" Even though they couldn't see her River was smiling at the thought of her father trying his best, even though it was most likely harming him, to keep Wash awake and talking.

"Don't even get me started on those two." Mal said loud enough for River to hear.

"I think maybe you're just projecting your own intimacy issues on the rest of the crew." Wash managed to push out before Niska's man turned the power back up. As the power was cut Wash began to cough up blood that ran down his chin and slowly began to drip onto his shirt.

"Or, could be it's a mite simpler than that. Could be I just don't think you're good enough for Zoe."

"I don't give a good gorram what you think." Wash bellowed finally coming to.

"Don't you?"

"No." Wash said flatly.

"See, I think you do care. Think you care quite a lot."

"You're wrong." Wash said shaking his head. Niska nodded again. Wash and Mal seized loudly and then fell back against the pole as the power was cut. Wash blinked rapidly trying to get his bearings.

"You know me and Zoe got a history—and I figure you gotta be asking yourself some fairly fundamental questions about the nature of that history…" Wash laughed weakly to himself, it was obvious to Mal he didn't believe anything he said.

"You never slept with my wife."

"YOU'RE RIGHT THERE WASH!" River cried out. She got wise to Mal's game and was trying her best to piss them both off now. She had to keep them both awake. "HE CAN'T EVEN SLEEP WITH INARA AND SHE'S PRACTICALLY THROWING HERSELF AT HIM!"

"River butt out!" Mal screamed at her. "You know that for a fact, do you? You ever ask her?" They seized again, Mal managed to bounce back quickly. Wash was barely holding his head up. "We were together good long time before you come around, Wash. And she is a damn fine lookin' woman."

"Never happened…Know how I know?" Wash paused briefly, but didn't wait long for Mal to respond. He knew the first thing he was gonna do if they got out of this mess, and it was gonna be punch Mal in the face. Well… maybe kiss Zoe and then punch Mal in the face, but it was definitely a close second. "the whole 'captain' thing isn't Zoe's trouble. It's the guy-she-never-slept-with thing. Hell, Mal—I wish you had slept with her! Then at least she'd be over it!"

"You want me to sleep with her? That make you feel better?"

"It might!"

"WE BOTH KNOW HE WON'T DO IT!" River cried out. "HE CAN'T EVEN TALK TO INARA HOW'S HE GONNA BED ZOE!"

"River!" mal yelled. "be quiet!" he turned his attention back to Wash. "Imagine it'd do wonders for her, too."

"Screw you!"

"Get in line." The lights begin to flicker as the power is turned up. Wash starts to lose consciousness. "Okay. Gonna do it, then. Wash?" no answer. Mal began to panic. "Wash! First thing, we get back—I'm taking your wife into my bed. Gonna get me a piece 'a—" Wash's eyes snap open and he begins to scream out in pain as he shocked again. Mal waits a moment trying to hold out, for Wash's sake, but he can't and he too lets out a scream.

Mal looked up as Niska walked to the door. He took the moment to start whispering things to Wash anything that would piss him off. Neither of them noticed the unarmed Zoe standing in the doorway. Niska was handed the bag of money he looked at it and hearing the sound of coins in a bag Wash looked over and finally saw Zoe. Mal looks over too and they both can barely contain their worry for her.

"No, no, no…run, run.." Wash starts to mutter, barely able to speak above a whisper.

"It's five times what you paid us for the train job." She said trying her best to remain calm, but it was hard looking at Mal and Wash in such horrible condition. She couldn't even see River and that worried her even more.

"Yes. You have had, you say it, good times…I see that." Niska smiles and a chill runs down Zoe's spine.

"Should be more that enough to buy back my three crew members."

"this is your opinion, is it?" He raises an eyebrow at her, the smile never leaves his face.

"it is." She nods her head once.

"They are perhaps damaged now. Are they worth so much to you?"

"River?" Zoe's jaw clenched. "If you laid a hand on that little girl…"

"Even a criminal must have standards." He said frankly.

"Not enough for three, But sufficient, perhaps, for one." She continues to clench and unclench her jaw as her anger starts to boil over. "So you now have a question to make an answer. It is for you, pretty lady, and only you now to ch-"

"River." She said without another thought. Neither Wash nor Mal were upset, they were both willing her to take River out of this mess.

"Ah, but the girl is not for sale…her fiancé is to pay me more." Zoe thought for a moment and then pointed to Wash. "Him." River who had heard everything up until this point felt the tears begin to stream down her face.

"River, Mal…" Wash tried to look back to call out. It didn't feel right leaving them here.

"I'M OKAY WASH, JUST GO!" River yelled.

"Just keep movin'" Zoe whispered as she half-led half carried Wash out of the room.

"A moment, please. This money…" Niska called out to them. Zoe stopped and turned to look at Niska afraid that he was going to stop them from leaving. "There is too much. You should have some small refund."

"Keep it." Zoe said trying once again to leave the room.

"No, no, no. I insist." He turned to the torturer and said something loudly in Czech. "They have enough for a slice." Zoe's face remained impassive. "I wouldn't want the talk to be that Adelai Niska is a cheat." Wash couldn't keep the horror from showing on his face as the torturer moved Mal and sliced his ear clean off. River, who was still trying to get her hands untied, began to cry harder as Mal screamed out in agony.

"Now we are ended." Niska said with glee as the torturer crossed the room and handed Zoe Mal's ear in a small plastic baggy. Zoe remained calm, took the baggy and walked slowly out of the room, dragging Wash along with her. As Wash and Zoe stumbled out of sight Niska turned and looked at one of his men. He smiled at Mal and then whispered something in his henchmen's ear. The man gave a silent nod before walking towards a sliding door that opened to reveal River sitting there staring at Mal with wide eyes. "I think, now, it is time for a father-daughter reunion, yes?"

* * *

Everyone stood waiting to see what would happen and who would be there when Shuttle II docked. Simon and Jayne stood there waiting for River to climb off and both of their hearts dropped as they realized she wasn't there. Where was she? Why didn't she come back with Zoe? Was she dead? A million questions ran through both of their heads.

"Where's Mal?" Inara finally asked her voice cracking slightly.

"Niska wouldn't let him go." Zoe said calmly. Already thinking a plan up in her head.

"for now. Niska's torturing him. He's gonna make it last as long as possible. Days if he can."

"Bastard's not gonna get days." Wash said firmly already determined to go get Mal and River. He watched as Zoe handed Simon a folded up piece of white cloth.

"Take that to the infirmary. Put it on ice." She nodded towards the infirmary.

"Wh-what is it?" Kaylee said almost too afraid to ask.

"It's his ear." Simon said in a disgusted tone as he scrunched his nose up.

"Huh choo-shang tza-jiao duh tzang-huo" Book muttered under his breath.

"Where the hell is River?!" Jayne barked silencing everyone in an instant.

"Niska's still got her. He's not torturing her." Zoe sighed knowing to some extent that her fate was going to be much worse if they didn't save them. "He contacted Atherton. He's already on his way."

"We have to go get her." Jayne said almost a begging tone to his voice.

"That was always the plan Jayne. Inara see if the Councilor will help." Inara nodded and immediately headed towards he shuttle to make the call. "Jayne go get some weapons."

* * *

Mal was barely hanging onto consciousness. Niska had been standing there, a sickening smile still spread across his face. Mal started seizing once again, this time barely waking up. River, watched in silent horror as Mal sank slowly when the power was cut. She began to tug at her hands furiously, feeling the blood run down them simply made her work harder. "For you, I have, uh…special machine…" Niska smiled a little bigger as he pulled out a small black box. "Very precious."

"And they say people don't look like their pets." Mal said the last of his strength and will power being used to remain a smart ass to the bitter end. Niska chuckled for a moment. "River don't watch. Just look away, look at the floor, look at anything else, but me." He said pleading with his eyes, she looked so scared sitting there. For a moment he caught something else in her eye, something he use to see in her mother's, determination.

"That is nothing for you to be worrying about now, Mr. Reynolds." He smiled as the torturer started up the device and attached it to Mal's chest. "Let us see if we can meet the _real_ you." It crawled along the front of his chest and began clawing at his skin to get inside. River looked down at the ground only seconds before Mal started screaming. Just as Mal's screaming reached it climax the heart monitor stopped giving a loud flat line sound, with this pushing her forward, she pulled one hand free.

* * *

Wash, Zoe and Jayne were discussing the plan in the kitchen. All three were fully outfitted in weapons. It wasn't much of a plan really, go in shoot everyone, grab River and Mal and high tail it out of there, but it would work. They hoped.

"Got a good look of the layout on my way in last time. You let me lead." That was more a command to Jayne than to Wash. She continued the conversation as they walked out of the kitchen and down towards the cargo hold. "Cover my…back." Zoe gave a brief pause at the sight of Simon, Kaylee and Book grabbing weapons near one of the locker. "What's this?"

"We're going with you." Simon said with no hint of joking.

"If it were any one of us, Cap'n wouldn't hesitate." Kaylee said with a slight nod of her head.

"Here you go." Book said as he handed Kaylee a handgun. He then removed a semi-automatic from the locker and handed it to Simon. "This should do."

"Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?" Zoe raised an eyebrow at the strange sight in front of her.

"Quite specific." Book said cocking the gun. "It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."

"If you're looking for me to talk you out of it—" She was cut off as Jayne brushed past her and stood in front of the cargo bay doors.

"Nuff talkin'. Let's go." He said rather rudely.

"Let's go get the Captain." Zoe nodded.

* * *

Mal was lying motionless on a table, his chest a mess of blood. There was a loud electronic whirring sound as Niska's employee applied a defibrillator to Mal's chest. After a few moments Mal's eyes popped open and he gave a loud breath. He couldn't see River, his was unable to move his head. He could only see the cold metal ceiling.

"Mr. Reynolds?" Niska sing-songed. "You died, Mr. Reynolds."

"Seemed like the thing to do."

"When you die, I can't hurt you anymore and I want two days, at least. Minimum. I think many people know the name Malcolm Reynolds. Many know he crossed Niska. They must know what happens after that." Niska nodded to the torturer who had what appeared to be a pair of scissors. Mal looked away knowing that this was going to be painful. "they must know that business is still running."

River slowly began to pull her other hand free. She leaned forward slowly hoping and wishing with a her will that the man who was suppose to be watching her didn't turn around. She began to undo the first knot on her right foot. Whoever had tied her up had obviously been a moron and had no idea what they were doing. Thank god for small favors. River smiled slightly to herself as the final knot loosened and the rope fell to the floor.

Niska and the torturer were leaning over Mal. Just as they were about to start the torture back up the alarm started blaring. Mal gave a small smirk which irritated Niska more than anything.

"Hey look if you got company…" Niska gave an irritated sigh and walked over to the comm. Box on the wall. The torturer far more concerned with his upset employer turned his back on Mal and set the torture device down.

"VIKTOR, What is this? Viktor!" Niska hollered into the small box. The torturer let out a loud scream and arched his back before falling to the floor. As he fell Niska turned and took notice of the small young woman who had previously been tied up in the back of the room. The man who had been watching her was laying on the ground his head sitting at an odd angle, obviously dead. The small black box, that earlier had been attached to Mal was now embedded in Viktor's back. River stepped over the man's writhing body and reared back before punching Niska in the face. Effectively knocking the old man out. As soon as she was able she ran to mal and began to untie him.

"What the hell to you so long?" he asked as he sat up.

"Yes, well the next time I have to untie myself from a chair and snap a man's neck all while remaining perfectly silent, I'll speed things up a bit." She said rolling her eyes as she wrapped Mal's arm over her shoulder and proceeded to half-carry half-drag him out of the room.

"Yea…well. See that you do."

Just as the door opened. River tensed up ready to fight to next few men that entered the room. Although her chances were slim to none with Mal attached to her like he was. She was instead pleasantly surprised to see Zoe, Wash and Jayne standing there weapons at the ready. She immediately dropped Mal to the ground and wrapped her arms around Jayne's neck. His hands found their way to the small of her back as he held her close.

"HEY!" Mal cried out from the ground. "Did you forget about someone, I don't know, maybe your wounded yet still incredibly handsome and brave father lying on the ground in what I can only assume is my own blood."

Zoe and River both rolled her eyes as the older woman helped Mal off the floor.

"I hope that's your own blood" River said wrinkling her nose as they made their way back to Serenity.

* * *

Simon was busy packing away the medical supplies as Mal walked into the cargo bay still fiddling with his mended ear. Simon looked at him and shook his head, but remained quiet. River and Jayne were sitting over in the corner. He was still asking whether or not she was okay. To be quite frank she was getting annoyed with him all over again. Simon had given her sufficient pain medication and secured the bandages around her wrists tightly.

"Sure this thing's gonna stay on?" Mal asked tugging on his ear again.

"This dermal mender creates an excellent tissue bond. It should be fine. Just don't…don't fiddle with it." Simon said raising up his hands as he cautioned him.

"Be sure to, uh, thank the Councilor for me." He said to Inara who was smiling at him. "Awful nice of her to…pull some strings and lend us this equipment."

"It's the least she could do. I just wish you'd killed the old bastard." She said scornfully.

"I got regrets on that score my own self." He paused watching as River and Jayne left the room. "So. I hear you all took up arms in that little piece of action back there." He turned to Simon slowly. "How you faring with that, doctor?"

"I don't know." He said sitting down on a small crate. "I, uh…I never-never shot anyone before."

"I was there, son. I'm fair sure you haven't shot anyone yet." Everyone gave a small laugh at Simon's expense and then went about their work again as Mal made his way to the kitchen. Wash was sitting at the table while Zoe handed him a bowl of soup.

"Mmm. Wife soup." Zoe gave a small chuckle. "I must've done good."

"Yes, dear. You done good." Mal groaned slightly as he slowly took the steps one by one to get in the kitchen.

"Did you tell her?" He asked Wash slowly

"Tell her what?" Wash raised an eyebrow at him.

"Your husband has demanded that we sleep together." He said turning to Zoe a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Really?" She said almost unable to contain her laughter.

"What? Mal, come on."

"he seems to think it would get all this burning sexual tension out in the open—you know make a fair fight for your womanly affections." Mal said trying his best not to break and start laughing hysterically.

"No. That was the torture talking. Remember?" he looked frantically between Zoe and Mal. "The torture?"

"I know it's a difficult mission…" He said taking Zoe's hands and placing them on his hip and shoulder. "But you an I…have to get it on."

"I understand. We have no choice." Jayne and River walked into the kitchen and stared, mouths agape, at the spectacle in front of them. "Take me, sir. Take me hard."

"Now somethin' about that is just downright unsettling." Jayne said shuddering.

"Ew." River scrunched her nose and moved past the two.

"We'll be in our bunk." Wash said as he grabbed Zoe by the hand and practically dragged her towards their room.

"Oh, hey." Jayne exclaimed sitting down in Wash's seat. "Free Soup." He paused groaning as they heard the machine telling them they were receiving a transmission. Jayne thought it was probably his Ma and Mattie. So both he and River made their way to the closest machine, Mal was close behind. The sight that greeted them quickly wiped the smiles off of all three of their faces. Atherton Wing's smiling face stared back at them.

"Ah! River dear. Just who I wanted to speak to." He smiled at her. She suppressed the urge to hit the end button. "Imagine my surprise when I got to Mr. Niska's skyplex and you weren't there."

"Yes. Well I'm quite slippery." She said no hint of humor in her voice.

"I've noticed." He said the smiled fading from his face. "You can run all you want River. You will get caught one day."

"Yes well I know a great deal more than you Mr. Wing." She smirked. "You still have yet to even get close. You must have just left the skyplex and we've been gone for hours. You have no idea which direction we've gone and I know that you know no one in the rim worlds will help you. I think it's best to stick to what you know. Whores and Cruelty." His face changed rather dramatically all signs of his calm demeanor gone.

"Mark my words little girl! I will find you and when I do you'll wish you had just given yourself up!" He was spitting on the screen he was so angry.

"Good luck." She said simply as she turned the screen off.

**Alright let me know what you think? Reviews are an addiction I am simply asking that you support my habit. **


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